All I Want For Christmas
by Sirup The Rising
Summary: Shizuo and Izaya never could stand the presence of one another. And yet when Shizuo leaves Ikebukuro on vacation with his brother, both he and Izaya grows restless from having that distance put between them. Why does their frustration only grow when they are apart? Could it be that the Christmas spirit is getting to them? (Currently rated M for language)
1. December 1st:When You Wish Upon A Star

_**A/N:** Aaaaaah, it feels so short A But I won't be able to write as much for this as I can for "The Search For Yule" because SO LITTLE TIME. Meaning the chapters will be shorter.  
BUT on the other hand, in this I hope to write from BOTH Shizuo's and Izaya's POV including little parts where we see things from an outside perspective like the last bit of this chapter. I'm already liking to write Izaya, actually. He's entertaining~ I'll also be adding little parts of Christmas songs somewhat related to the chapters at the end. This time it is from "**When You Wish Upon A Star**"~_

* * *

And so, this time of year has come around yet again as it always does: _Christmas. _It always seems to begin in early November and run until the end of January. However, I believe that most would think of Christmas as the 24 days building up to Christmas Eve on the 24th of December.

During this period of time, you will see humans act in all sorts of interesting ways. Some are happy to spend time with those they love. Others despair as they cannot find the right Christmas gift or have to spend Christmas alone. A few manages to stay depressed throughout all of winter.

And then there is the person who spends Christmas throwing Christmas trees at you whenever he lays his eyes on you.

"IIIIIIZAAAAAAYAAAAA!"

Had I not moved just that little bit to the right when I did, the 2 meters tall pine tree flying past me would most likely have knocked me off my feet. Instead I could simply taunt the enraged blond man panting heavily across the street.

"You really shouldn't go throwing around Christmas trees, Shizu-chan. Think of the kids whose Christmas you'll end up ruining." I reached into my pocket for my knife as he walked across the street, ignoring the cars honking at him. "Think of all those families crying on Christmas Eve because they couldn't get a tree."

"That's got to be nothing compared to the people, whose Christmas you have been ruining, right Izaya-kun?"

I chuckled at his response, watching as he took a firm grip on a large "STOP"-sign to his right. That enormous strength of his, allowing him to pull up a steel pipe lodged into the ground with ease, was _exactly_ what made him such a monster. As he swung the sign downwards, I easily danced out of the way, lightly skipping around him.

"Are you perhaps talking about yourself? Did I ruin your Christmas, Shizu-chan?" Once more I had to move out of the way to avoid getting knocked over by the strongest man in Ikebukuro. "Am I really such a terrible person?"

"You're worse!" Shizuo roared, throwing the sign in a straight line, missing me by a few inches before it crashed straight into the window of Russian Sushi. "It's you who's fuckin' up this place. I told you to _GET THE HELL OUT OF IKEBUKURO!_"

It appeared Shizuo had gone completely berserk, consequently making him fly at me in blind rage. As usual, it posed no problem at all. His moves were easy to read. His mind, however, was a completely different matter. I knew that I only had to hold out for just a few more seconds…

"Shizuo! Fighting is bad. No fight in front of Sushi shop."

A large black man clad in white appeared behind Shizuo, holding him back to prevent him from causing any more havoc. This most certainly also helped me. That meant I could let Simon handle Shizuo while I headed on home. Such a trip to Ikebukuro was all I needed to get in high spirits every now and then.

"Thanks for the save, Simon," I called out to the black Russian before waltzing away from the scene, ignoring the angry frown he sent me. "I will be heading on home. I'll see you around."

I could hear how Shizuo struggled to get free from Simon's iron grasp. I had witnessed the strength of the Russian first hand before and though it paled in comparison against Shizuo's raw, brutish force, Simon knew how to use his strength.

"GET BACK HERE! IZAYAAAA!"

I laughed as I began to run, escaping the scene.

_Telling me to get out and then calling me back. You really can be an enigma at times, Shizu-chan._

_Meanwhile, a bit away from the heat of the battle, three figures were standing. Having just exited their usual manga store to shop that week's load of new series, they watched as the fight unfolded. The girl with the hat began snickering._

"_Oooh, Shizu-chan and IzaIza is going at it again. They really do make a good couple."_

"_Which part of _that_ makes you think that they could ever be a couple?" the older man with the bandana asked resignedly, rubbing his temples. "Those two will _never _become able to even breathe the same air without going at each other's throats."_

"_It's no use. Once she's at it, she can't be stopped." The younger of the males shook his head hopelessly. "I don't think she'll give it up."_

"_Of course not! It's a maiden's dream!" The other two sighed at her hyped attitude. "Maybe I should do something. It's Christmas, right? You know, "when you wish upon a star", right? That might work, right?"_

_The boys only had to look at each other for a second before giving their answer. They knew that silently, most of Ikebukuro was with them._

"_NOT IN A MILLION YEARS."_

_When you wish upon a star  
Makes no difference who you are  
Anything your heart desires  
Will come to you_


	2. December 2nd:What Christmas Means To Me

_**A/N: **It is now December 2nd so here is today's update~  
This time you'll get things from Shizuo's POV and some of Namie's thoughts in the beginning. Yeah, I don't think she likes Izaya |D Frankly, I don't like her, but she's good to have around to comment on Izaya's behavior |D_  
_The song lyrics for today is from **"What Christmas Means To Me"**. Let us just say that the "present" Izaya sent Shizuo wasn't exactly filled with love xD_

* * *

_Ikebukuro was not the only place ready for Christmas. Shibuya had certainly made its preparations as well. Countless couples were walking up and down the street below, probably planning how to spend their Christmas… which would end up being with one another._

_Sighing, Namie pulled herself away from the appalling sight. Christmas was a waste of time if she could not spend it the same way. As it looked now, her way of passing the season would be through piles of paperwork given to her by her employer._

"_You really should stop having those kinds of thoughts about your brother. Don't you think it's sickening? He even has a girlfriend of his own."_

_Namie turned around to face her employer spinning around in his office chair in front of his work desk. She shook his head at him. If anyone in the room was "sickening", it would be him._

"_It should not be unusual to think about spending Christmas with your only family." She shot a glare at Izaya. "What is it to you? Why, do you have plans on how to spend Christmas?"_

"_Of course."_

"_Plans that do not involve ruining it for others?"_

"_Whatever could you mean?" the information broker chirped, stopping the seemingly endless spinning of the chair with his foot. "I've even been as kind to send an early Christmas present out to Shizu-chan. Aren't I nice?"_

_Namie rolled her eyes, refraining from responding to Izaya's words. The man was an asshole. An absolute asshole, but it would not surprise Namie if he already knew that. In fact, it would surprise her more if he was not aware that he was._

"_Do you remember the group, who came here asking for information on the Awakusu-kai last week?"_

"_I think so. They called themselves the "Crimson Dragons", didn't they? Looked like some kind of rising yakuza group. Why?"_

_Izaya chuckled, folding his hands beneath his chin. The sly little glint in his eye told Namie that whatever he had been up to, it was most certainly going to mean trouble to someone._

"_Well, I _may _have told them that they could get all the information they wanted from a certain bartender in Ikebukuro and I _may _have that he was a member of the Awakusu-kai."_

_Of course, what else would he have told them? It seemed to be a forming habit of Izaya's to send these smaller groups after this Ikebukuro bartender, who Izaya claimed to have such a hatred for._

"_You really are a manipulative bastard, you know that?" _

"_Why, thank you. It warms my heart to hear I'm good at what I do."_

_Kzzzzzing._

The long knife dug deeply into the ground after having been knocked out of the hand of a man with a dragon tattoo on his arm. Said man was currently lying on the ground, moaning in pain after having been hit with a trash can.

Said trash can was currently in the hands of a very pissed off man with a rip in the clothes he had received from his brother. Said man…

…_was me!_

A group of 6 people were staring in dismay as I lifted the trash can above my head before throwing it straight at them. One of the guys were hit straight on the forehead and fell to the ground much like his friend.

"I'm gonna fuckin' kill of you assholes!"

How _dared_ they ruin the clothes Kasuka had given me? He had worked _hard_ to pay for them and now these people had to come along and _cut them_. No fucking way he was going to let them off for doing that. _No way in hell!_

Another man in the group barked out a few words to his fellow comrades and they immediately pulled back. It seemed they had decided to flee with their tails between their legs like the cowards those damn gang types always ended up doing.

Taking a deep breath as I left the two unconscious me, I felt my rage calm down a little. I needed a smoke. Sticking a hand into my pocket, I found a cigarette in the pack I had there and put it in my mouth. Now the lighter…

"Fuck. I must've forgotten it at the office."

That was just fucking perfect. As if it had not been enough that those gang sons of bitches had to assault me without warning and ruin my clothes. What a shit day it was, but at least that damn flea Izaya had not shown his face in Ikebukuro.

Speaking of which, it was probably him who had sent those assholes after me. They definitely counted as some of the bad shit he could usually come up with. I could feel myself getting more and more agitated just thinking about him. I forced myself to bite down on the cigarette in an attempt to calm down.

It did not exactly work.

"Fuck!"

I kicked a container in the alley, nearly knocking it over. Boy, was I going to kick Izaya's puny little ass if he showed up again. _When_ he showed up again. He never failed to do so and always at the most inconvenient times.

_Beep beep._

I frowned at the sound of my cellphone. The timing was perfect. It was just like the flea calling to hear how things had went down. However, I was surprised to see by the number on the display that it was not Izaya calling. Blinking a few times, I accepted the incoming call and put the phone to my ear.

"Hello?"

"_Brother? It's Kasuka. There is something I wanted to ask you…"_

_The presents that you give and get  
Are nothing but a token  
For if they don't come filled with love,  
The Christmas spirit's broken  
_


	3. December 3rd:Different Kind of Christmas

_**A/N: **It's time for things to take form~ I'll like to thank **kokochi**, **Ardespuffy** and of course mah lovely **Sabi-chan93 **for your reviews~ As always, they are much apprectiated 3 Thanks to everyone who has faved and followed the story to. I hope you'll stick around to the end~  
The song lyrics today is from **"A Different Kind of Christmas" **since it will be for Shizuo and Izaya~_

* * *

I was getting quite a few strange glances from the Ikebukuro inhabitants as I skipped down the street to pay a little Christmas visit. My broad grin and cheerful humming may have had something to with their reactions. The taller man by my side narrowed his eyes.

"You look like you're in a dangerously good mood. Did something happen?" Sighing, he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "You know, on second thought… I don't want to know."

I grinned at him slyly. It was just like Dotachin to be such a spoilsport. Most likely, he already had an idea of where I was going. We had known each other since high school and, while it did not mean that he understood my actions, he had a pretty sharp intuition.

Much like Shizu-chan, I thought, though less savage than the blond. They still shared their dislike for me, however, which could leave one to wonder why Dotachin would bother walking with me through Ikebukuro.

Truth be told, he was not. In fact, he would probably be far away from me if I had not come up to him when I saw him and adjusted to his pace so he would not escape. Being the kind of man he was, Dotachin had simply accepted to let me walk along despite his clear irritation.

"Nothing's happened… yet," I chuckled, successfully making Dotachin grimace at my remark. "But it will soon enough."

"Ugh. You're up to something again, aren't you Izaya?"

"_Up_ to something? My my, Dotachin, that's a horrible accusation." I stretched my arms into the air. "_Why_ would I be planning something during Christmas of all times?"

"Because that's your thing," the other grumbled, putting his hands into his pockets, reaching for his cellphone. Scowling at it, he put it back down. I figured his two buddies had asked something silly of him again.

"My thing?"

"Yes, your thing. You mess up the people around you like it was nothing. _That's_ your thing. You're an asshat."

"That's harsh, Dotachin." I pretended to sound hurt, but it clearly had no effect on him. For that, he knew me too well. "Humans tend to mess up themselves pretty well on their own. I just give them a little… _push_ so to speak."

"Exactly my point." He shrugged. "Anyway, I hope I don't see your face again for the rest of this month."

"You needn't worry. I didn't come all the way out to Ikebukuro to see you. I was looking for Shizu-chan. Speaking of the devil, I'm surprised he hasn't popped out yet." I looked around, half expecting a large object to come flying at me. Nothing happened.

"Huh?" Dotachin stared at me in disbelief. What was that about now? "Weren't you aware?"

"Aware of what?"

"Geez, you can be pretty oblivious." Turning right, Dotachin waved at three people by a large van. "Shizuo left Ikebukuro this morning. He was going away on a trip with his brother down south."

I could feel my eye twitch. What did he just say_?_ Why had I not been informed? For a moment, I considered calling up Shinra or Celty to confirm it, but I stopped myself. Why should Dotachin be lying? And yet, I still could not believe my ears. Lowering my head, more of my muscles began twitching.

"I'm sorrybut_ what did you just say?_"

"_ACHOO!"_

_The scenery outside was flashing by with hundreds of miles per hour. It was nearing afternoon already so the train should reach its destination within the next two hours. Next to the window, two men were sitting, one staring outside with a blank expression. The other had just let out a loud sneeze._

"_Bless you," the stern brunet said without taking his eyes off the quickly passing surroundings. Despite his seemingly lack of emotions, he was quite happy. This was the first time in years he had gotten to spend time with his brother._

"_Thanks." The blond rubbed his nose, frowning as if he expected another sneeze to follow up. "Huh, I guess someone must be talking about me. Wouldn't surprise me if it was that damn flea."_

"_Izaya-san?"_

"_Who else?"_

"_I see."_

_Not many words were uttered between the two. It was not necessary. For a long time, the only way for them to communicate had been through quick glances and rare phone calls. They were not used to talk and neither of them were talkative people to begin with._

"_Say, do you have a lot of work?"_

"_Not really." The brunet turned his head to look at his older brother, who appeared to feel a bit awkward. "My manager set me up for a couple of photo-shoots and a commercial filming." He tilted his head as the other looked away. "It shouldn't take too long."_

"_Oh. Okay."_

_Putting a hand under his head, Kasuka felt a small tug at his lips upon seeing a smile form on Shizuo's face. It was rare to see such a genuine smile. It appeared they were both looking forward to their joint vacation equally much._

_It's a different kind of Christmas  
In a different kind of world  
Even though it looks the same_

_Everything has changed_  
_It's a different kind of Christmas_


	4. December 4th:The Holiday Season

_**A/N:** Chapter 4 is now up~ Shizuo's enjoying his vacation. He is pretty much the focus of this entire chapter |D And thanks to Ardenspuffy for another review~ We'll see soon enough who will give in first |D  
The lyrics used this time is from **"The Holiday Season"**._

* * *

The sun was beating down over the sandy beach. A light breeze swept across the sand, rolling the waves along. In the distance, I could see a few islands, fully clad in green. This place was certainly warmer than Ikebukuro around December, though the wind could still be chilly.

I whipped out my sunglasses and put them on. It surprised me how bright it was. The ocean stretching out before me was also quite the sight. Shining azure blue, it was very different from the dark water further to the north. It was a beautiful, serene paradise.

I was so taken in by the fantastic view that I hardly noticed Kasuka walking up to my side. Since it was still quite early in the morning, I had not expected him to be up already.

"Good morning, brother," he greeted, his expression as blank as ever. However, I was certain that I could hear a bit of cheerfulness in his voice.

"Ah, morning!" I blurted out, not sure what else to say. Thinking for a while, I ended up adding: "Did you sleep well last night?"

Kasuka just nodded in response, looking straight forward out over the ocean. I proceeded to do the same. He had invited me on this trip, but he had yet to tell me why. Most likely, I would end up becoming an inconvenience to him. That was the way things had been between us since we were kids. Kasuka had a career. I did not want to ruin it.

And still, being able to go along with him on this trip made me extremely happy. I could not remember the last time we had been together as a family, let alone during Christmas. It was almost like a small wish come true.

"Are you enjoying yourself back there?"

The speedboat raced across the water, waves splashing up against it sides. Every now and then, a wave would be large enough to scatter and land decent amounts of salty water on the deck. I did not pay much attention to it. My mind was elsewhere.

It was a strange feeling, being so far away from home and from everything I knew. It had been a while since I had been out of Ikebukuro and be able to fully _relax_. Here I did not have to worry about gangs or yakuza, not to mention that _the flea_ was not around to mess up everything.

And about that… I was not sure how I should feel about that. Izaya had been a painfully annoying part of my life since high school. While he had a habit of disappearing every now and then, it only left me to worry about when he would show up again.

This was different. _I_ had left the city this time. I would not have to worry about Izaya showing his face all the way out here. I should be happy, overjoyed even. But that was not the case.

Instead I had a nagging feeling in the back of my mind. I could not put a finger on what it was, but _damn _it was irritating. The more I thought about it, the more annoyed I could feel myself become. I lit myself a cigarette to calm down. It seemed to work.

"Mr. Heiwajima?"

"Huh?"

I looked up to see Kasuka's manager in front of me. _Oh right_, I thought. _Kasuka's photoshoot. _The first one was apparently going to take place on a boat. I could see Kasuka in the background wearing an open, short-sleeved shirt and orange shorts with an abstract pattern. Despite the chilly air, he did not seem to mind it.

"I'm ready," Kasuka said, moving to the front of the boat. The way he leaned on the railing and turned his head slightly emphasized his good looks perfectly. It did not take long before the photographer was all over him, coming with suggestions that Kasuka seemed to follow flawlessly. His brother really held the talent to pull it off.

"I must admit I had never expected Yuuhei to hire a bodyguard for this trip." The manager sat down beside Shizuo, watching as the photo-shoot progressed. "But I suppose it is only natural after what happened last time in Ikebukuro. He has faith in you. I doubt a lot of people can say that about themselves."

"Yeah, I suppose," I mumbled, my eyes locked on Kasuka. He had been telling his superiors that he had hired me to protect himself which was probably for the best. Who knew what would happen if they learned that the famous actor, Yuuhei Hanejima, was related by blood to me of all people?

I sighed. The thought was pretty depressing. Publically we could not call ourselves family. I would only cause a scandal, simple as that. I remembered that Izaya had once threatened to spread a rumor about our relation. It had just been warm air.

There it was again, that nagging feeling. It was like an itch on the back you could not reach or a sneeze that just would not come out. I quickly stood up, rummaging my hands around in my hair. The manager shot a confused look at me.

"Gaaah! This is so annoying. Get out of my head already, you damn flea!"

_Happy Holiday_  
_Happy Holiday_  
_While the merry bells keep ringing_  
_May your every wish come true_

_Happy Holiday_  
_Happy Holiday_  
_May the calendar keep bringing_  
_Happy Holidays to you_


	5. December 5th:Baby Please Come Home

_**A/N: **I'm sorry for posting this chapter so late!I wrote this in "The Search For Yule" too, but I'll put it here too for those who don't read that story.  
__I've been feeling terrible these past few days. My head has been hurting constantly because I'm too tense and stressed out. After school today I spent most of my afternoon sleeping after taking some painkillers and muscle relaxants. On top of it, there's school. I'm feeling pretty down as of late, BUT AT LEAST WRITING CAN KEEP MY SPIRITS UP._  
I'm truly grateful to all of you who read this story. Your support is what keeps me writing and posting (honestly) and whether I know you in real life (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE, SABI!) or not, I love you. Seriously. You're awesome. I don't even 3  
Big thanks to _**namea33** and **Tikycat **for your reviews 3 It means so much, I can't even begin to express it~  
__As for this chapter... pssssch. Izaya is doing just _fine_ without Shizuo |D OR IS HE? I'll let you be the judge of that. Somehow I have a feeling what the answer you'd give is already |D Also, I couldn't pass up the chance to write a bit with Kida and Mikado xD I'm seriously starting to love them. Can't promise that I won't start shipping'em xDD The song today is "**Christmas (Baby Please Come**_** Home)**_" because we all know that's what both Shizuo and Izaya is thinking~_

* * *

_In Ikebukuro, life was going on just as usual. Nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary unless a lack of unusual happenings counted against that. The city had been surprisingly calm for a while, but if one was not aware of the things that usually went down in Ikebukuro, you would never notice._

_Unfortunately, Kida could not claim that he was one of the lucky ones, who were blissfully unaware of the city's darker side. Rather he was part of it as much as anyone could be. It was hard to avoid when you were working for the biggest bastard in Ikebukuro; an informant by the name of Izaya Orihara._

_As if that was not enough, Izaya had been even more of an asshole for the past few days. Both he and the Yagiri woman had been buried in paperwork while the informant himself had been dawdling around doing nothing worth mentioning._

"_He's more douchy than usual. It's unnerving." Kida took a sip of the soda he had gotten from the vending machine he leant against. "Like he's a bomb about to go off. It's just a matter of time before bad stuff starts happening in 'Bukuro again if you ask me."_

"_That is unnerving," Mikado agreed, scratching his temple. "But now you mention, it's been sort of quiet lately. Almost as if a storm's coming."_

"_Exactly. And I know exactly why."_

"_Really? Why" Mikado widened his eyes in surprise at Kida's words. The blond just grinned right back at him._

"_Haven't you noticed? There's a reason the city's been at a standstill. There hasn't been any fighting for days." Kida pointed his finger at Mikado. "And _that_, my dear Mikado, is because the strongest man of Ikebukuro has left the zone."_

"_Left? You mean Shizuo?" Mikado's mouth became an almost perfect circle as he finally realized. "Oh! That's why I haven't seen him around lately. You really think that's the reason Izaya-san is acting up?"_

"_I am one hundred percent positive. There's no mistaking it," Kida concluded, emptying the soda can before throwing it into a trash can. "Izaya is obviously being an ass to _me_ because he can't take it out on Shizuo. Don't you agree?"_

"_It sounds a bit far-fetched. Are you sure you're not being paranoid."_

"_Mikado, that's mean!" Kida whined, pouting at his friend. "I'm being terrorized by Izaya! How can you even doubt my words?"_

_Rolling his eyes, Mikado ignored his friend's complaints. At some point, however, he had to agree with Kida. Ikebukuro seemed different without Shizuo Heiwajima around. Far too different._

_And somehow also far too dangerous._

Never had Ikebukuro seemed like such a dull place. I pulled my jacket closer to my body, which was gradually getting colder. The weather had gotten chillier and greyer. Drops of rain had begun to fall from the sky.

If I had been more poetic, I would have said the sky was crying. I did not believe in things like that.

I looked up. This had to be the fourth time in the past two days I had found myself coming to that place. I half expected to hear Shizu-chan's angry voice call out at me, telling me to "get the fuck out of Ikebukuro and never show my face there again", but I never heard it.

I had never given it a second thought how boring things could get when Shizu-chan was not around. As much as I hated him and his impulsive, unpredictable and violent nature, his presence was something that lured me to Ikebukuro. Perhaps one could even say that I found it tempting to be near him.

I laughed loudly, drawing in the looks of a few people passing by. In honest truth, I did enjoy our encounters; the thrill of the hunt and the adrenaline rush in something that, every now and then, felt like a fight on life and death. I had yet to discover something that satisfied my inner demons as much as torturing Shizu-chan.

And he did deserve it after all. He was not human. He was a monster. However, if anything, Shizu-chan was _my _monster and having him run off was not exactly something I appreciated, especially not when it caused distortions in my plans.

I was growing impatient and stressed. I could hardly even focus on the jobs and request I was given at this point. My mind had become that of a predator longing for his next kill. My fingers itched at the thought of feeling a knife in my hand again, lashing out at my prey.

Soon.

Very soon I would relive that sensation. If Shizu-chan refused to be my prey, I would simply have to expand my horizons. While there might not be anyone in Ikebukuro as resilient as Shizu-chan, surely I could find myself a fitting victim. In fact, I already had one in mind. Pulling my phone from my pocket, a smirk came upon my face.

_Let us see whether these guys are truly "dragons". Because the crimson color they will see in one way or another…_

_They're singing "Deck The Halls"  
But it's not like Christmas at all  
Cuz I remember when you were here  
And all the fun we had last year__  
_


	6. December 6th:In The Bleak Midwinter

_**A/N: **A late update AGAIN, I know. I'm trying to write these chapters when I have time which is pretty much only late at night at the moment. Buuuut, the weekend is coming up, so hopefully I can get a bit ahead~ And THANK YOU for your kind words. You really helped cheering me up. I'm still trying to get over the stress, but don't worry. Writing chapters isn't something that stresses me out. Rather, it helps me relax~  
**namea33: **I'll be fine~ I'm doing what I can to relieve the stress. I'm also so glad you think the characters are IC *squeal* Thank you so much 3  
**Guest: **You are very welcome~ I'm resting as much as I can too. I don't like feeling stressed xD  
**kokochi****: **I'll try to keep healthy~ And I don't find it rude at all! Actually I'm kind of flattered you bother pay attention to my grammar and correct what you think is wrong ;w; I'm sure it'll help me improve~  
**Sabi-chan93: **SABI! *snuggle* I'm glad you liked the chapter 3  
The song today is **"In The Bleak Midwinter"**. The first verse felt perfectly dark for this chapter~_

* * *

Raindrops were falling one by one on the dark asphalt, quickly picking up their pace. It was not long before it had gone from a drizzle to a full out shower. Combined with the cold winds blowing through the streets, most inhabitants of Ikebukuro had decided to stay at home.

However, that did not mean that the streets were completely abandoned.

On my own, I was heading down a narrow alley, my fur trimmed hood pulled up tightly around my face. While it did nothing to hide my identity, at the very least it kept the cold winds out. Besides, where I was going there would be no need to hide who I was. They already knew me.

A wide grin came upon my face. I had picked out my target and I was going in for the kill, for the excitement. I needed to find a release for this pent up feeling of murderous intent inside of me and there was only one way to do so.

I needed a good fight. One-sided manipulation and struggles only did so much. What I required was an actual _challenge_, something that would give me the same sensation as when I faced off with my very own nemesis. Since he still had not come around, I had to go elsewhere.

I could not hold back the most feral part of my nature any longer.

Shizu-chan might be a monster, but I was well aware that I was not an ordinary human either myself. No, I was more like a beast. An intelligent one, yes, but when I was unable to follow my own instincts, I would gradually grow insane. I knew it and _that knowledge_ was what separated me from most others.

Having reached the outskirts of the city, I approached an abandoned storage building. This was where motorcycle gangs would usually hang out, but as of late a new group had made this area their own turf. They were not just mere gang types. They had the cunning of the yakuza, but the independence of mercenaries.

These unique feats had been what had drawn me to them in the first place. I had decided to test out what kind of group they were and how easy they had been to manipulate. They had fallen for my trickery; head first, just as expected. What I did not expect to find out _afterwards_ was that they had never trusted me, sending out simple pawns to deal with Shizu-chan.

That was why I knew their _true_ members would pose an actual challenge.

Entering the building, I picked up my cellphone and called my contact within the group. Immediately after, a melody played somewhere in the shadows. A smirk appeared on my face. The person I was looking for was already here.

Coming towards me from the darkness, a tall figure appeared. His combed back brown hair and muscular tattooed arms made him look like an intimidating opponent, but not to me. While he was a core member, he was not the leader. No, the leader was probably watching from a safe distance. Perhaps he was not even present.

However, this night I had not come for him.

The man walked towards me, throwing me a scornful look. He knew who I was and it pissed him off. I could see it in his eyes. With a loud snort, he reached underneath his jacket to find something when-

_Swoosh._

His widened in surprise at suddenly having cold steel pressed against his throat. I looked up at him and he realized; if he moved, I would cut his throat right open without a second thought. Waiting for a few seconds, I pulled the knife away before jumping a few steps back. He did the same.

_Zzing._

Steel hit steel as our blades made contact. Physically he was overpowering me, but I was small and agile. I chuckled as I made eye contact with him. He would never know what hit him.

Things happened very fast from there. Within seconds, the man had fallen to his knees, grabbing his side. Blood was seeping out through his fingers as he looked up at me, genuine fear showing in his eyes. Leaning forward, I waved my own knife covered in blood in front of his face.

"You can go tell your leader," I whispered to him eerily, "that if he wants revenge for what happened with the boys my _Shizu-chan_ beat up… he can come see me _personally_."

"You're insane." The man smirked at me, laughing loudly before it turned into groans of pain. "Our leader_ will _find you when you least expect it and when he does… _you'll be a dead man_."

I left the wounded man behind, ignoring his threats. His comrades would come for him soon enough and, confident in my skills as I were, I was not suicidal. Taking on half the gang would be too much at once. This should be enough to lure out their leader and satisfy my need for a thrill.

"We'll see," I said back at the man on the floor before closing the door to the building slowly. "We'll see who will be the dead man."

_Once he shows up, I won't even need Shizu-chan. That man… should be the perfect prey._

_In the bleak midwinter  
Frost wind made moan  
Earth stood  
Hard as iron  
Water like a stone  
Snow had fallen  
Snow on snow  
Snow on snow  
In the bleak midwinter  
Long ago  
_


	7. December 7th:Believe

_**A/N: **I apologize for the EXTREME delay in updates. I had to take a break from sitting at my computer because of the pain in my back and shoulders, so instead I wrote drafts by hand. Now I'm in the process of putting them up on my computer so I hope to be up to date before tomorrow. I am really sorry for the lack of updates in the past few days OTL  
**namea33: **It makes me really happy that you find Izaya to be believable in this story~ *bows countless times* I don't even know what to say! I feel like I don't deserve all your praise OTL  
**kokochi: **I'm so glad you liked the darker atmosphere~ I can tell you there will be more of it later on ;3  
**Tikycat: **Don't apologize ;3 Your reviews are ALWAYS appreciated 3 And I'm sorry for not having updated daily for a short while OTL I hope you will bear with me.  
Alright, so today we'll start of with fujoshi Erika again |D Because I can't resist writing fujoshi Erika. I hope you will enjoy this update~ Also, the song today is called **"Believe"**. I thought it was a beautiful text~_

* * *

_A dark van had parked at the side of the street, right outside a shop. Not just any shop, of course, but a comic shop. The passengers had already gone inside and were busy rummaging around; searching for the particular series they wanted._

_Their companion, an older man with a bandana covering most of his hair and forehead, stood in a corner watching them. Every now and then, he rolled his eyes at their excitement of finding someone that really piqued their interest. First a rare edition of an old manga. Then a limited edition figurine. Then some kind of strange fan comic, a _doujinshi _if he remembered correctly. He probably did. Those two had long ago dirtied his mind with their strange likings._

_Suddenly, the girl stopped in her tracks, turning her head upwards almost like a dog sensing a thunderstorm coming. Her friend, a boy with narrow eyes, put down the book he had in his hand and tilted his head questioningly._

"_I can feel it," the girl began in a dramatic, pointing in the same direction as she was looking. Still confused, the boy followed her line of vision but found nothing but a shelf with manga, neatly ordered alphabetically by title. He winced as he saw _what_ kind of manga._

"_Uhh, Karisawa?" he began carefully, still not sure what it was that she was talking about. "That's just a bunch of BL manga. It's no different from the usual stuff you read."_

"_Wrong, Yumacchi! That's not what I'm talking about." She turned to her friend, almost frightening him with the wide grin and sparkly eyes she had. "My fujoshi sense is tingling!"_

"_Your _what_?"_

"_Oooooh, it's totally going to happen soon!" She began to flail her arms wildly, nearly hitting the boy. "I bet something's going on with Shizu-chan and IzaIza! They've SO got the hots for each other, I just know it!"_

_The boy quickly stepped backwards, moving to the side of the man that was with them. They both simply stared at the girl having one of her usual fits._

"_Oh man! She's gone and done it again." The boy facepalmed, his voice almost desperate. "What's up with all those BL fantasies?!"_

I could not even begin to express how strange it was to feel so relaxed. Kasuka had not been lying when he said it was mainly going to be a vacation. Though he was still working a couple of hours each day, we had plenty of time to just chill out and talk. Well, talk a _little_. It was difficult to even find a subject to discuss between us.

And no matter how much I tried to forget it, I had to admit that I was kind of longing for Ikebukuro already. The city was my home and many of the people I cared about lived there. I missed them. It was strange. I had never considered how much of an impact they had on my daily life.

Tom especially. I would usually see him pretty much every day. We worked together and I never had to worry about my fits of anger around him. He had not once freaked out or run away from me when it happened. Instead he always managed to calm me down. If he had not offered me a job when he did, who knows what kind of place I would have ended up?

Celty too. She was probably the closest to a best friend I had ever had. Like me, she had never fit in with ordinary people and she also attracted the strangest personalities. She did not fear my strength either. Hell, if she tried I bet she could easily overpower me. I laughed a bit. It made me glad that it had never gone so far. And, while I was at it, I supposed you could say I missed Shinra too. He had always been ready to patch me up after fights without any questions.

I took a look at my phone. Of course, there was also the Dollars. I had never been very active with the group and they were probably more trouble than they knew. And still, we were sort of a big family. You never knew who would turn up to help you in the hour of need.

Man, was I getting all sentimental. I supposed that was what happened when Kasuka left me alone. It was hard not to let my mind wander. I probably should not have because right then, another person entered train of thought, slowly enraging me.

"Goddamnit. Why won't you stop nagging me already…"

No sooner had I muttered those words before my cellphone went off. I was so irritated that I did not even bother to look at the display before answering the call. My voice most certainly also came out far more angry than I intended.

"What?"

"_Gee, Shizu-chan. I thought you were supposed to be on a vacation. You sound so tense. Try and relax a bit, hmm?"_

I froze at the sound of a very familiar voice coming from the speaker. Not in a million years had I expected to receive _that_ call. My entire body tensed up and I had to fight hard to not just crush the phone with my bare hands.

"Izaya… what do you want, you fucking bastard?"

"_Don't be so harsh, Shizu-chan." _The voice on the other end chuckled. _"We haven't seen each other for a while, so I figured I should call you. I only wanted to hear what you have been up to." _There was a short pause. _"Do you miss me?"_

"Like hell I would miss you, fucking flea!" I roared into the phone. The bastard was mocking me, but at least my frustration could run free now. "If you're planning to show up around here, I'm going to kill you and kill you so _hard_ that…"

"_Now now. No need to get so worked up. Why in the world would I waste my precious time and money just to go see you?"_

"…because that's what you always do. Bastard."

"_Oh? That's some arrogance, believing that the only thing I ever think about is you."_

I kept quiet, ignoring his attempts to taunt me. Somehow it was much easier when I could not see his annoying face in front of me.

"_But moving back on topic. I called you, Shizu-chan, because I wanted to hear what you've been up to. Tell me… how is dear Kasuka doing?"_

_Believe in what your heart is saying,  
Hear the melody that's playing.  
There's no time to waste,  
There's so much to celebrate._

_Believe in what you feel inside,_  
_And give your dreams the wings to fly._  
_You have everything you need,_  
_If you just believe_


	8. December 8th:We Need A Little Christmas

_**A/N: **Second of the three updates on this story today~ Before anything else, I JUST WANT TO TELL ALL OF YOU REVIEWERS, WATCHERS AND WHATNOT HOW MUCH I WANT TO HUGGLE AND SNUGGLE YOU 3 Your support means so much~  
**namea33: **I'm forever grateful for your praise 3 I'll continue to do my best to write these stories and hopefully be deserving of your kind words :3 I'm also glad to hear my writing can make people smile ;w; I feel so happy now~  
__**kokochi: **We'll just have to pray it's accurate this time too, then |D I hope you'll feel the same way after the next chapters ^^  
The song in this chapter is called **"We Need A Little Christmas"**~_

* * *

"Izaya!"

I had only taken a single step into the small restaurant before a heavily accented voice called out to me. From behind the desk, a large dark-skinned Russian was waving me over. I shot him a wry smile. He had just managed to direct the other customers' attention at me.

Usually I would have no problems with that. However today I just did not feel like being stared at by others. My patience was slipping up. My fight with the man from the Crimson Dragons the day before yesterday had only done so much. If their boss did not show up soon, my irritation might get the better of me.

Already I felt like stabbing out someone's eyes. Perhaps the sweet little girl in the corner could do with one less.

"You not come very often here now, Izaya. Shizuo have not been here in long time also. Did something happen?"

I went to the desk and sat down at one of the chairs before grabbing a menu card. An unnecessary action since I already knew what I wanted, but at least it proved enough of a distraction to not make me twitch at hearing Shizu-chan's name.

"He's fine," I replied flatly, feeling Simon's questioning gaze on me. I looked up to meet his eyes. "Shizu-chan is on a vacation. He will be home soon enough, I'm sure."

"You don't know when?"

"Why would I know when?" I must have sounded more irritated than I thought because Simon appeared to be surprised. Either that or he _expected_ me to know. "Anyway, I _don't_ know and honestly, I couldn't care less."

"Really?"

I glared up at the large black Russian. He was gradually getting more and more on my nerves with his constant nosy questioning. Was something amiss with me? Simon was observant enough to notice little things, so realizing that Shizu-chan's lacking presence had changed things in town had certainly already caught his attention.

"Of course. Are you saying that you expect me to know every single little thing about Shizu-chan?" I put down the menu on the desk again. "Does it look like I'm infatuated with him?"

"I think the term to best describe it would be "obsessed"." Simon had gone over to speak Russian. It seemed he was not interested in having others listen in on our conversation. "Do you want my honest answer to your question?"

"No thanks, Simon," I replied, continuing the talk in Japanese. I almost rolled my eyes. Why would I obsess over Shizu-chan? Like all other non-human beings I knew, I was simply using him as a tool to satisfy my need for an adrenaline rush. There was nothing more between us.

Or so I would very much prefer to believe. I hated to admit it, but as of late, it seemed that I might have become too dependent on Shizu-chan. His strength and dangerous temper had piqued my interest and for years he was all I needed to keep down my own animalistic instincts.

His absence had made me realize that. This meant that it was due time I found a different person to use. Becoming dependent on _anyone_ would just be the death of me. As suicidal some might have found my desires, it was the last thing I wanted.

A beeping noise from my pocket brought me back to reality. For a moment, I considered whether I should take it. Honestly, I was getting headaches from Namie's constant complaining over work. Of course it could be Shiki meaning it would be awfully troublesome not to pick it up.

"A plate of fatty tuna, please Simon?" I told the Russian before flipping open my phone and putting it to my ear. "Yes? Izaya Orihara speaking."

"_Shut up, you damn flea." _

"Shizu-chan?" I blinked a few times in surprise at hearing his voice again already. I cast a quick glance at Simon, who was grinning widely at me in the back. That man was unbelievable. "A questionable pleasure to speak with you. What is it? Did you really miss talk to me that much? Just say so."

"_In your dreams, bastard." _It seemed Shizu-chan was not falling for my advances. He knew me too well by now. _"I want to know what the hell you're up to."_

"Me? Ah, nothing much." I had to fight to hold back my laughter. I was aware what he meant by that statement, but the way it had come out made it sound quite different. "I was about to eat lunch at Russian Sushi. Which reminds me, Simon asked about you. He thought it was weird you weren't arou-"

"_That's not what I meant!" _My hand flew up in front of the speaker to block out Shizu-chan's loud roar which nearly blasted my eardrum. _"Tell me what you're fuckin' planning! If you're even thinking about involving Kasuka in something, I'll-"_

"You should really try to relax." I sighed deeply. It was just like Shizu-chan to suspect me of some sort of foul play every single second of the day. Then again, he was usually right in doing so. "Why would I be up to something?"

"_You're always up to something."_

"True." I lit up as a plate full of tasty-looking sushi was placed in front of me. I silently told Simon to move away and stop listening to the conversation I was having, but it had no effect. "But you _are _taking a vacation. Relax. Have fun. Do all that… _vacation stuff_ people do and think of us sorry creatures back home who have to work all Christmas."

"_You don't sound like one of those "sorry creatures","_ the voice grumbled on the other end of the speaker. _"I doubt you've ever been sorry in your entire life, but you _are _a pathetic excuse for a human, fucking flea."_

"Pathetic excuse?" I mused as I swallowed a piece of sushi. "Maybe it's just that I'm not human. Did you ever think about that, Shizu-chan?"

"_Like hell you aren't. Then what the hell are you supposed to be?"_

"An animal, perhaps?"

"_You're seriously fucked up." _I quietly shook my head at Shizu-chan's comment. Of course he would think so. _"I'm going to hang up. If I find out you're up to anything-"_

"-you'll kill me. Yes, I know." I brushed him off, chuckling. "Thank you for the warning, Shizu-chan. I'll talk to you later then."

I quickly hung up before Shizu-chan could come up with any more complaints. Looking across the desk, I could see Simon smiling broadly, pointing at his own lips. I realized that I was wearing a grin just as wide as his.

I wiped the grin off my face before Simon caught onto something that was not even there. The smile had been a coincidence.

_Just a coincidence._

_For I've grown _  
_A little leaner_  
_Grown _  
_A little colder_  
_Grown_  
_A little sadder_  
_Grown _  
_A little older_

_And I need _  
_A little angel_  
_Sitting _  
_On my shoulder_  
_Need a little _  
_Christmas now  
_


	9. December 9th:Miss You Most At Christmas

_**A/N: **Third update on this story to day and NOW I have caught up to the present day |D Now I'll just have to get to work on the two missing chapters of **"The Search For Yule"** xD Buuut I should have plenty of time to finish them~  
If you pay attention at the end of this chapter, you'll notice it's sort of tied in with the previous chapter |D I couldn't help myself~  
The song lyrics in this chapter is from **"Miss You Most At Christmas"**. I've been spamming you with kind of depressing Christmas songs lately, haven't I? |D_

* * *

I was seriously going crazy. Somewhere in my mind, I knew it. It was the only reasonable explanation. That goddamn son of a bitch had gotten to me.

As I made my way down a small forest path, I cast a swift look at the display of my phone. It was hard to believe, but _this guy_ had managed to interrupt me and brother's otherwise peaceful trip to this lush forest. For once we had been on our own without managers and cameramen to worry about…

…and yet I had decided to go with the call. Blood was rushing to my head, much like when my anger would usually start to rise. However, it did not this time… at least not in the same way.

"_You must really have to spend a lot of time on your since you have the time to respond to my calls, Shizu-chan."_

"Would you rather that I didn't?" I growled at him, rubbing my temples. Thinking about the reasons for picking up the phone was starting to hurt my head. "Why call if you don't expect me to answer anyway?"

"_Ouch. A little harsh, aren't we?" _ Izaya was laughing at me, but, once again, I found my anger to be limited. It was hard to get angry at someone you could not even see. _"Would you rather have that I didn't call you at all?"_

"Shut up," I groaned as I slid down a tree to sit at the ground. "I don't want to listen to your fucking mind games. My head is hurting."

"_I'll take that as a "no" then. That is one unusual reaction there, Shizu-chan. Where's your temper at?"_

"Shut up!" I raised my voice, just a little. He was _definitely_ messing with my mind again. "It's none of my business who you call and when. I don't want it to be either." I paused for a second.

"Besides, I'm mentally kicking your ass right now, so there."

"_Ah, a joke? Good one, Shizu-chan. Good one." _

As much as I wanted to tell him that I was not joking, that I really _did_ want to kick his puny little ass into next week, I could not bring myself to say it. I did not want him to hang up already. For some strange reason, his voice was _lowering_ my anger.

It had to be the first time ever I had been able to be just a little bit civilized when talking to Izaya. Did I really have such a big problem with his face?

"_Alright. Then I'll be cutting you into little pieces… mentally."_

"Are we seriously doing this?"

It was awfully ridiculous, talking about how we were going to kill each other over the phone. Were we always like that? I must have never noticed because of my anger. I really was the stupid idiot some people took me to be after all. There was also a pause from Izaya.

"…_we are."_

It sounded like he had realized the ridiculousness of the situation as well. For a while I just sat there, quietly listening to the soft breathing through the speaker, telling me that Izaya was still there. What a strange experience. It was perfectly tranquil, even when I thought about it being Izaya I was talking to.

The world would probably come to an end soon too.

"_Hey, Shizu-chan." _As Izaya finally broke the silence, I straightened my back and listened closer to hear what he was saying. _"What are _you _up to? Doesn't sound like you've had the most relaxing vacation."_

"What's it to you, flea?" I gave him another growl as I heard that characteristic teasing in his voice which always managed to piss me off. It did this time as well, though not enough to throw me into a pure fit of rage like usual.

"_Can't I ask?" _His voice had turned soft, but I knew he was trying to play me in some sort of way. I ignored it and waited and, eventually, he gave in. _"I'd like to know all about how you've made a fool of yourself so far." _

I jumped slightly at Izaya's remark. How would he know anything about the stupid things I had already done? Did he know? I was unable to answer and, of course, Izaya could sense that.

"_Oh, so you did. How typical of you, Shizu-chan."_

"Shut up." It was really becoming a habit to tell Izaya that. "What would you know about it?"

"_I'm sure you'd like to know that." _Another laugh. I was about to tell him that I knew he was bluffing since there was no way he could now, but he managed to reveal it himself first. _"You're right, I don't know. So tell me. What did you do this time? Wreck a hotel room? Cause a panic at the beach? Destroy half a town?"_

"I'm not fuckin' Godzilla, damn flea."

"_As far as I know, all you lack is the scales and size… though I suppose if you _were_ Godzilla, you'd be somewhere other than Ikebukuro."_

"You're an idiot."

"_Thank you for the kind words, Shizu-chan."_

I have no idea how it happened, but I managed to sit and discuss my stupid moves with Izaya for who knows how long. He was the last person I would confide in and he would probably find some weird way of using the information as leverage against me.

But it felt _nice_ to get the frustration off my chest. What surprised me even more than that was that Izaya _listened _to my stories without putting in annoying remarks every other second. By the time our conversation finally ended, I felt more peaceful than I had in a long time. Much of the built-up tension in my body had gone.

And when I managed to find Kasuka again, his first question was why I was looking so happy. I could not help to wonder whether I had been smiling, perhaps even more, _why_ I had been smiling. It had to be some sort of coincidence.

A fucking weird coincidence.

_Because I miss you_  
_Most at Christmas time_  
_And I can't get you_  
_Get you off my mind_  
_Every other season comes along_  
_And I'm all right_  
_But then I miss you, most at Christmas time_


	10. December 10th:Want You For Christmas

_**A/N: **THANK YOU for all of the reviews yesterday ;A; You made my day, really!_  
_There won't be any phone conversations in this chapter |D Instead, please enjoy Kida and Namie raging over Izaya and our dear information broker dealing with his wonderful siblings xDD  
The song for today is **"I Only Want You For Christmas"**. Who else wants to see Izaya all tied up as a Christmas present for Shizuo? |D *raises hand*_

* * *

_Another day at the office. Paperwork had started to pile up on all formerly empty surfaces in the room. It was a mystery why no one had dealt with it before since this had been the status quo for days already. One could pass out from stress just thinking about the workload._

_And was it not just _wonderful _that he, Masaomi Kida, was the one who had been ordered to get it done before the end of Christmas. Sure, the ever moody Namie Yagiri had been told to help, but to call what she did "help" would be a joke. Complaining non-stop was more like it._

_Had Izaya been there now, Kida would probably have strangled him if he had the chance. Namie was certainly thinking the same judging by her quiet grumbling, cursing the information broker whenever the papers got all messed up._

_To make it even better, Izaya was not even present, of course. That guy had _better_ things to do. Kida did not even want to know what these things included, but he felt genuinely sorry for the poor bastard who had drawn Izaya's attention to themselves. _

"_Is this ever going to end?" Namie asked, most likely rhetorically, as she filed yet another stack of papers on the already crowded bookcase. "Izaya's impulsive mood swings are beginning to get on my nerves. What is he doing in Ikebukuro every single day?"_

"_Probably waiting for the return of a certain blond bartender," Kida responded, handing Namie an index card she had dropped. He could hear her swearing under her breath, giving him a death glare as she snatched it away. "Izaya was already terrible before, but now his behavior is just insufferable!"_

"_Indeed." Namie sighed as she put the card in her hand down on Izaya's work desk, throwing herself into his office chair. "If his silly little games don't end soon, I _will_ murder someone." Her eerie tone made Kida chuckle nervously._

"_You're seriously one scary old lady."_

"_I'm not an old lady."_

"_Of course not," Kida mused, sitting down in the office couch. "I feel you though. That Shizuo needs to come back soon." He lied down on his side, sighing hopelessly. "If he doesn't, how am I _ever_ going to get myself a date for Christmas?"_

Strolling down the streets brought a sorry sight. Tiny flakes of snow had started to fall, but melted away as soon as they made contact with any surface. It seemed that the city was still too warm for the snow to stay. What a sad, sad Christmas.

It was a funny thing to say, the city being too warm. It most certainly did not feel that way to me. Rather, I was freezing my butt off in the cold. No matter how tight I pulled up my jacket, I just could not keep it out and as a result, I was chilled to the bone every time I stepped outside.

That was not something that held me back, however. I was still patiently awaiting the leader of the Crimson Dragons to show up. If he was still reluctant to come find me, I would personally track down every single member and cut them up until he decided to appear. I had to break out of my habit of chasing Shizu-chan.

And what a wonderful job I was doing so far. For the past couple of days, we had been on the phone together several times. I never knew when to expect a call from him and, as much as I hated to say it, when he refrained from calling, I ended up doing so myself. Staying disconnected was making me restless. Until I had found a new target, I could not do without Shizu-chan.

Turning right at the east exit of the Ikebukuro station, I continued my aimless walk throughout the city. Eventually I would probably find someone and start a conversation with them. I had not seen Shinra or Celty in a while. Neither had I seen Dotachin around since he told me of Shizuo's vacation. Perhaps they would be out today.

But, as it turned out, I was wrong. Terribly wrong. Instead I bumped into two small existences I did _not _want to see.

"Iza-nii! We've been looking everywhere for you!"

I winced upon hearing the familiar voice of my more outspoken younger sister, Mairu. As I turned around, I could see my two younger sisters come running down the street, Mairu's hand outstretched and waving at me. For a second I considered ignoring them and walk away, but that would have been useless. Those two were _my_ siblings after all.

"Kururi, Mairu. How wonderful to see you." I put on the best fake smile I could come up with along with a fake cheerful voice. I was quite sure it was easy to see how little I wanted them around, but they did not seem to take notion of it. "Whatever would you with me?"

"Apart from selling you out to Shizu-nii?" Mairu grinned happily, Kururi at her side nodding in agreement. "Actually, we haven't been able to find Shizu-nii anywhere. We thought we could maybe get him to trade us Yuuhei for you. Do you know where he is?"

"Yuuhei or Shizu-chan?" I continued smiling, pretending I did not hear their evil little plan of selling their own brother. They were _indeed_ my siblings. "I'm afraid you won't find them in Ikebukuro. They're on a vacation. Together."

"Vacation?"

Kururi looked up at me with her almost expressionless face. The two of them were holding hands, just like they had always done.

"Yes, vacation. You'll know when he's back, I'm sure," I stated, looking over my shoulder, hoping to find a chance to escape. My chance came when I noticed Kururi check her cellphone and tug at Mairu's shirt. After exchanging whispers for a moment, they both looked back up at me.

"Sorry Iza-nii. We have to go meet someone." They quickly brushed past me, making me wonder why they had even stopped to talk to me in the first place. Before running off altogether, Mairu turned around to add one last thing. "Oh, and give us a call when Shizu-nii is back, okay?"

"Yeah, sure," I mumbled. As if I would do that. If I knew them, and I did, they were not kidding about giving me to Shizu-chan, maybe even with a pretty little bow on my head like some sort of Christmas present. Those two _were my siblings_ no matter how you looked at it.

_Becoming a Christmas present for Shizu-chan. What a funny thought, actually._

_I only want you for Christmas, baby  
I don't need nothing else  
I only want you for Christmas, baby  
Tie a ribbon 'round yourself  
Oh, tie a ribbon 'round yourself_


	11. December 11th:There's a New Kid In Town

_**A/N: **Bleh. I was home late yesterday, so I couldn't find the time to finish up this chapter. Since I'm home late again today, I can't promise that today's chapter will be up before tomorrow either. Geez, I'm falling behind again OTL I'm four chapters behind on **"The Search For Yule" **but I've decided to prioritize **"All I Want For Christmas" **since it seems to me more people are anticipating this one xD  
**tikycat: **Yeah, I have to admit I forgot what they call Shizuo xD I prefer leaving out the -san/-kun/whatever when writing fanfictions since it feels kind of awkward when writing in English xD the -chan and -nii suffix is usually different though, because more often these nicknames are hard to sort of translate xD They even use "Shizu-chan" in the Durarara! dub, which I very much appreciated (though I seem to recall that "Iza-nii" was changed to "Izaya") ^^ Thanks for noticing~ I'll probably change "Shizu-nii" back to "Shizuo" soon enough~  
**isthisparadise: **I'm glad you think so xD Actually, he will be showing up very soon. Very soon, uhuhuhu~  
**kokochi: **Ahh, yes I know xD Glad to know I'm not the only one wanting to make Izaya a Christmas present |D And you cannot help but to adore the Orihara twins |D *is wearing her Kururi-hoodie today~*  
The song at the end of the chapter is **"There's a New Kid In Town". **Who is the new kid? |D Well, I'll leave that up to your imagination~_

* * *

The time on my cellphone was showing that I had overslept quite a bit, which was quite unusual. I never overslept. Already I was starting to realize that the lack of excitement in my everyday life was affecting my ability to work, concentrate… simply put, I was unable to stay functional.

But it seemed that I was not the only one having a hard time focusing on work. Peeking over at the couch, I could see that Kida, too, was taking a break from his workload. It was possible that it might have been a bit too much for him. Did I care? Not really.

Stretching my arms, I took a spin in my chair, stopping where I could look out of the large window behind my desk. From here I had a perfect view of Shibuya's bustling streets. It appeared life in the big city was going on as usual. Part of me wanted to go down there and ruin the sickening warm, loving atmosphere but something stopped me.

Really, I was just too lazy to get up from my chair so early in the morning… because 11 a.m. was _very_ early. _Very_.

Careful not to wake the sleeping teen, I grabbed the phone on my desk, clicking a few buttons to call up dear _Shizu-chan_ to hear how he was doing. My guess was that he was still sleeping. He was the type to sleep in whenever he could. Believe me, I knew.

The phone beeped a few times before a click told me that the call had gone through. I could feel a smile creep unto my face as I heard the slightly irritated voice of my eternal nemesis.

"_Yeah? What is it this time, flea?"_

"Sorry, did I wake you?" My concern was far from genuine, but Shizu-chan probably knew already, hence the growling I could hear. "And is it really wrong for me to call you to hear how you've doing, Shizu-chan? Can't I have my concerns?"

"_As if you're ever fuckin' concerned about anything and calling me is wrong on every single level." _A characteristic anger came over his voice. _"But you know that, don't you Izaya? Your calls are seriously starting to test my patience."_

"Oh?" A smirtk had appeared on my lips as I chuckled into the speaker. "You're right, concern is a waste of time. I still fail to see what is so _wrong_ in just talking, Shizu-chan? You might as well admit that you enjoy it."

"_In your dreams."_

"Are you hinting that I dream about you, _Shizu-chan_?"

I deliberately emphasized the much hated nickname I always referred to him by, enjoying being able to nearly _feel_ his irritation seep through the phone. That part of Shizu-chan never failed to amuse me.

"_You can dream about whoever you want. See if I care." _The voice on the other end sounded surprisingly less annoyed than before. It was incredible how civilized he was. "_Anyway, whatever it is you want, you should make it quick. I'm supposed to escort Kasuka to an interview in 20 minutes."_

"Tough being a bodyguard for your own brother, isn't it?" Perhaps if I had been a bit more empathic, I would have actually cared. Too bad that was not the case. "Are you considering making that a full-time job? I'm sure you'd be paid more than what that debt collector is giving you."

"…_I wouldn't quit my job for an excuse as shallow as getting a higher salary." _ I was met by a pause after that statement. Several seconds passed before Shizu-chan spoke up again. _"But I don't suppose you'd understand something like that."_

"Really? Try me."

* * *

Shibuya was far from as lively as Ikebukuro, hence why I much preferred jumping on the train and take a ride to the latter. However, something else made Shibuya quite different for me. Unlike in Ikebukuro, my influence on the streets here was much smaller. Other groups ruled this place.

One of them being the Crimson Dragons. I had only just learned of their recent surge in power in Shibuya. For what other reason would I be walking through a city I did not feel particular comfortable about if not for tracking down the mysterious leader of this group?

Exactly. There was no other reason.

I did not have any particular plan. My lack of concentration as of late made it impossible for me to do something as time consuming as working out a detailed plan. Instead I was thinking of heading down to a certain area where gangs would usually clash every night.

But as usual, my planning was going to be messed up. Just as I was approaching the area I was heading towards, my keen instincts allowed me to move out of the way only seconds before a knife cut through the air where my neck had been.

Once out of the way, I turned to look at my assailant. The red dragon tattoo slithering down his right arm instantly gave away his identity. It was quite obvious what group he belonged to… and, even more, why he had attacked me with no warning.

"I take it that your leader sent you to get rid of me?" I asked teasingly, quickly arming myself with my own blade. "That's low _and_ rude. Haven't you guys ever heard of playing fair?"

"Coming from the guy who made sure that a bunch of our members got beaten half to death," the man before me snorted. Unlike the one I had fought, this one was smaller and more slender. He certainly looked more like the sneaky type, who would attack someone from behind. "Trust me. You're going to regret having ever come across us."

"Aha." I flicked my knife open, waving it back and forth as a threat. The man was probably well aware that I fully knew how to use it. "I take it that you're after revenge? Good luck with that. I believe I've already told you that all I'm interested in is your leader."

"Believe me, he knows. He told me to pass on this message to Izaya Orihara." My attacker turned on his heel before giving me the words of his leader.

"You will feel the burning wrath of the Crimson Dragons soon enough. _He_ will personally make sure of that and it will not be pretty. Cover in fear, Orihara. You will meet him soon enough."

_There's a new kid in town,__  
__And he's lying in a manger down the road.__  
__There's a new kid in town,__  
__But he's just another baby I suppose,__  
__Heaven knows,__  
__There's a new kid in town,__  
__Here in Bethlehem._


	12. December 12th:Where Are You Christmas

_**A/N: **Here you have chapter 12~ I'm just about to get started on the 13th chapter, so stay tuned~ I hope I will finish it before going to bed ^^  
**Miyako Miyagi: **Oooh, the first guess :D Awesome~  
**kokochi: **Ohoho, denial indeed |D I hope this chapter will clarify some of Shizu-chan's feelings~  
**namea33: **Pfffft, best way to deal with your enemy |D "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer", right? xDD  
I'd like to thank you all AGAIN for reading, reviewing and faving this story ;w; You people are AWESOME 3  
The song today is called **"Where Are You Christmas"**. Since we're halfway to Christmas, I bet someone is asking that question somewhere~_

* * *

My day had passed quite calmly so far, feeling strangely calm since the day before. Somehow it felt as if a lid had been put on my anger, keeping it in check so that it would not suddenly burst out without warning. Kasuka too had noticed the change, but he had stopped asking about it after the forest trip. I sincerely hoped he had not figured it out. I did not need the world to know of my conversations with Izaya.

On top of it, the lid on my anger could only do so much. If anyone annoyed me, they could get away with just being snarled or yelled at. However, if they _really_ ticked me off, there was absolutely no way I could hold back my wrath and it was bound to happen sooner or later.

Too bad it ended up being sooner.

Kasuka was busy with his photo-shoot at a small inn where we had been staying for a few days. The crew had managed to set up everything perfectly, even allowing spectators to come closer and watch if they wanted.

That was when a grown man had appeared, criticizing my brother like there was no tomorrow. Had he been able to keep down instead of speaking loudly, perhaps I would not have snapped. If he had not given me that stupid smirk, perhaps I wouldn't have broken one of the walls. And if he had not commented that Kasuka was "a bitch of the media"… perhaps I would not have punched him to the ground, dragged him up and beat him up.

My mind had gone completely blank in an uncontrollable fit of rage. The bystanders must have been horrified. For how long did the fit last? I am not sure. 5 minutes, 10 minutes, half an hour? All I know is that I came back to at the sound of a ringing cellphone. I was not able to take the call, but at least my fit had come to an end.

As it turned out, the bastard badmouthing Kasuka had been carrying an illegal gun, though no one quite knew why yet. That was probably the only reason I did not get in any more trouble for breaking his nose and giving him a bunch of bruises.

Following the incident, I holed myself up in one of the rooms, ignoring incoming calls for quite some time. I wanted to be alone. I had tried _hard_ not to ruin the vacation for Kasuka, but I just had to go and throw a fit. While I, according to Kasuka's manager, had simply done my job as a bodyguard, I still felt like I had _disappointed_ my brother.

I felt horrible. Just horrible.

_Rrrring. Rrrrring._

The sound of the cellphone was getting to me. Staring at the display for a second, I finally picked up the call, sighing deeply as I spoke.

"Yeah, it's me."

"_That's too bad, really." _Izaya's sing-song voice came through on the other end. _"Since you didn't pick up the phone for hours, I figured you had gone and gotten yourself arrested. Guess it's not my lucky day."_

"Welcome in the club," I responded, ignoring his silly taunts. I was not feeling up for getting angry again. "Somehow I don't hope you've had a better day than me. Please tell me that someone kicked your ass or at least punched you."

"_Nope, sorry. On the contrary, _I _did some ass-kicking yesterday. Sort of at least."_ It was a mystery why being told that did not piss me off. _"So what exactly have you done this time? Did you lose your head again?"_

I fell silent, remembering the earlier incident. I wanted to forget as quick as possible, just put it behind me… but that would probably be hard considering I was staying with the people who had witnessed it.

"_Bingo,"_ Izaya chuckled, poking his nose further into my business. At that point, I did not really care. _"What happened? Did you kill someone or just beat them within an inch of their life? Or did you damage someone's property?"_

"I gave a mean _ass-kicking_ to some guy with a gun, who insulted Kasuka." I paused, thinking it over. "He probably deserved it now that I think about it. I just wish I could've done it without going all crazy like I did. I hate to agree with you, but I guess I really _am_ a monster."

"…_who are you and what did you do with Shizu-chan?"_ Izaya's voice was almost serious. No wonder. I really was not myself anymore. I felt like I was about to go crazy. _"Geez, at least you finally admit it. Honestly, I hate to _hear_ that you agree. If you realize that you're a monster, where is the fun in telling you?"_

"True," I admitted, feeling a smile coming onto my face. My mood was slowly lifting by having the conversation. When I put behind the thoughts of it being _Izaya_ that I was talking to… it was almost as having a pillar to support yourself against. It was quite reassuring.

"_Maybe I should start taking money for talking to you. Sounds like you're using me like a personal psychologist." _It appeared Izaya was not finding is as bad as his words made it sound. _"I wonder how that would be. Imagine it, "Izaya Orihara, Monster Psychologist"." _He paused. _"Forget it, it's ridiculous."_

"Well, takes a monster to know one."

"_Right you are… though I have a feeling you just insulted me, Shizu-chan."_

"Maybe I did." A small snicker escaped me upon hearing Izaya's offended tone. "You're right, it _does_ sound stupid and you'd have to be crazy wanting to listen to peoples' stories all day long for a job. But I suppose that's already part of what you do."

"_Mmmhmm. I suppose that is the case. You know, I've got to leave. My _job _needs me."_

"Oh sure… but just one last thing." I waited until I was absolutely sure Izaya was listening. I knew I was embarrassing myself completely by telling him, but considering what I had already been through… it was not that awful.

"Thanks for calling. Talk to you later?"

"_Huh? You're welcome, I guess." _Izaya sounded slightly surprised and somehow that made me smile even more. _"You're being weird today. I hope that Christmas spirit-thing hasn't been rubbing off on you. Ugh. But sure, call anytime. But be warned, I _will_ start charging you."_

"Whatever, flea."

"_See you, Shizu-chan."_

And with that, Izaya hung up. I kept staring at my cellphone display for several minutes, trying to conceive what I had just been doing. What had that conversation been about? Had we _really _been discussing my problems?

The world was probably coming to an end.

_Where are you Christmas__  
__Why can't I find you__  
__Why have you gone away__  
__Where is the laughter__  
__You used to bring me__  
__Why can't I hear music play_


	13. December 13th:Now The Bells Ring

_**A/N: **Aaaah, I am so tired right now X_x It's about 2:20 a.m here and I've just written the two chapters I've been behind. I NEED SLEEP. Anyway, I had a Christmas-themed photoshoot with mah awesome Sabi-chan (Sabi-chan33 on this site~) in our cosplays~ She did Naruto, Pikachu and Charles from X-Men 1st Class (CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG SABIII DD8) while I did Kaworu (Evangelion) and Shizuo. I can't wait to cosplay Shizu-chan at a convention this spring and have Sabi as my Izaya |D It'll be fuuuuuun~_  
_**namea33: **Psssch, of course Shizu-chan listens |D He be smart, yo? *shot*_  
_**Tikycat: **YOU WANT MORE HERE IS MORE 8DDD Aaaah, it makes me so happy to know you anticipate the chapters 8'D I could just cry!  
**kokochi: ***cough* It's getting difficult to find fitting lyrics, but I'll do my best |D It was a tough chapter to find a song to, but thanks for the feedback as always 3  
**Miyako Miyazaki: **NUUUUUU ;A; *chases* Seriously, I must've been more tired than I thought OTL I'm so sorry for misspelling your name A *smacks head on desk countless times* OTL I'm such a dork!  
I should probably go into hiding after this chapter. It'll probably be received with mixed feelings. Believe me, my feelings were hurting while writing it too ;w; Dun worry, you'll get an update on Izaya very, VERY soon~ The song is called **"Now The Bells Ring" **and it doesn't have all that much to do with this chapter except for the bell ringing at the end |D I'm such a failure._

* * *

_A van with four people was driving down the streets of Ikebukuro. The driver seemed to be in high spirits, happily singing along to the newest Christmas single from Ruri Hijiribe, his favorite idol. The man at his side was busy checking his cellphone for new messages on the Dollars forum. In the back, a boy with narrow eyes was reading a manga, cheerfully humming along to the music playing._

_Only one person did not appear to be affected by the high spirits. The girl on the bad seat had taken off her hat and was just staring out of the window. The pout on her face clearly showed that she was not particularly happy._

"_Hey Erika, you've been quiet for a really long time." The boy poked her shoulder, trying to catch her attention. "What are you thinking about?"_

"_Something's up."_

"_Huh? What's up? Is something going to happen?" The boy put a finger on his chin, trying to figure out what she could be talking about but no matter how hard he thought about it, he simply could not figure it out. "Come on, won't you tell us?"_

"_I'm not listening," the man in front declared resignedly. "And if it includes any of your wild fantasies, please don't share them. No one wants to hear."_

"_You're mean, Dotachin!" The girl instantly reacted to the insult she had received. "I'm not imagining it! I'm serious! Something's up. I can _feel _it!"_

"_Like you can feel that something's happening between Shizuo and Izaya?"_

"_Exactly!" She chirped, clapping her hands. "I'm glad you finally understand, Dotachin!"_

"_I _don't_ understand." The man shook his head, unable to ignore the irritating girl on the backseat. "Geez, I give up. Just tell us what in the world is up then."_

"_I don't know."_

"_What do you mean you don't know?!" The man turned around to look back at the girl, reaching his limit at how much irritation he could take. "You're saying "something's up", but you don't know why? Wonderful. Just wonderful."_

_The girl ignored his complaints and went back to staring out of the window. For quite a while she remained quiet with a frown plastered on her face._

"_I have a bad feeling that's something's going to happen. I think something's really awful is going to happen really, really soon."_

I had a pretty bad feeling when I stepped out of my door and headed for Ikebukuro that night. An eerie sensation hung in the air everywhere. I had never experienced anything like it before. It was almost as if I was being stalked by a predator in the darkness.

I brushed off the strange feeling. If someone was stalking me, it was probably one of the Crimson Dragons. Perhaps their leader had decided to make a move and that was what I wanted... was it not?

My thoughts wandered to my conversation with Shizu-chan the day before. It was dawning on me that he did have human qualities in him... albeit only a few which did not show often. What was even stranger was that he did not even try to argue with me any longer.

I had to stop for a moment and focus. We were not becoming friends. It was simply that I had finally managed to get into his head. Soon enough, I might be able to control his actions as I could with other people.

I could not resist snickering at the thought of controlling Shizu-chan. If that was to happen, it would not be as fun to mess around with him anymore. He was amusing because he always managed to thrill me in a fight. If Shizu-chan became docile... then, simply put, he would not be my Shizu-chan.

But if that were to happen, what about when we met again? I could not even begin to imagine how it would go down. A smile formed on my lips. On that note, Shizu-chan was still very much himself. He still managed to confuse my expectations.

I went down a smaller alley while tapping in a number on my phone. All that thinking of Shizu-chan had put me in the need of taking it out on him. He _was _coming on my mind _far_ too often at this point. It was irritating, yet fascinating at the same time how he was able to keep my interest. Because I _was _intrigued.

"_The hell are you calling so late for?" _sounded a groggy voice, similar to that of someone who had just woken up. _"Do you know what time it is?"_

"It's 23:45, fifteen minutes away from December 14th," I replied after checking my phone's display. "I'm sorry Shizu-chan. Did I wake you up?"

"_Damn sure you did." _While he was clearly not amused, his voice did not sound particularly angry either. Possibly he was just tired. _"If you don't have a fucking good reason for calling me in this hour, I'm going to hang up."_

"Hang up?" A poorly held back snicker escaped me. "That's a cute threat, Shizu-chan. It's certainly more creative than, let's see… "kicking my ass" I think you put it a few days ago."

"_Yeah, sure. Stop calling me if you've got nothing to say."_

I stopped for a second, thinking I saw something. I brushed it off as my eyes playing tricks on me. The alley was not _that _dark, so I would have seen someone trying to conceal themselves. The eerie feeling, however, was not letting up.

"It's not that I've got nothing to say. I do have something to say."

"_Oh yeah?" _Shizu-chan was clearly not convinced. At least that was what his voice told me. _"Then what exactly do you want to say?"_

Before I could reply, my attention was drawn to somewhere behind me. This time I was positive that I heard something and as I turned around, I shifted the phone to my free hand, whipping out my knife from my sleeve while hanging up the call. There was still no one to be seen. It was getting stranger by the second. Still slightly alarmed, I turned back around only to see shiny metal in the dim light.

Then, a strange muffled sound and a sharp pain in the side of my chest. The impact of whatever had hit me caused me to stagger backwards into a garbage container. Sliding down against it, I fell sideways onto the ground, finding myself at a shortness of breath. As I grabbed my wounded chest, the feeling of a warm fluid seeping out between my fingers made me realized what had happened.

I had been _shot_.

Footsteps approached me slowly and soon I could see a pair of dark sneakers in front of me. Looking up at the shooter, I found myself unable to see their face underneath the pitch-black hoodie he was wearing. A sneaky one, most definitely.

"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth," the shadow said in a teasing voice, pointing the gun at my head. It was a male and, judging by his voice, not that old, probably no older than me. His voice had a slight accent, _American_ if I was not mistaken. A red, curvy mark slithering down the visible part of his face confirmed my suspicions of his identity.

"And the blood of my enemies for the blood of my comrades. Did you get what you wanted from me, Izaya Orihara?"

With those words, he left. I must have laid there for a minute or two, waiting until I believed he was out of sight. I feared my consciousness was going to slip away and I was glad I had held on to my phone. At least I could call for help.

And so, I quickly called up one of only two numbers I had on speed dial. I was greeted on the other end by the questioning voice of a certain underground doctor.

"_Izaya? Is that you? It's rare of you to call me. Did you need something?"_

"Shinra…" I gasped, desperately trying to catch my breath. My lung must have been damaged by the shot with the considerable shortness of breath I was having. "An alley… two blocks away… from your place…"

"_Hey, is something wrong? Izaya? What happened?"_

"Please… help."

"_Izaya? Hey, answer me! Izaya!" _

Despite the alarm in his voice, I was unable to answer him. I was unable to force myself to stay conscious any more. If he did not find me, I was probably going to bleed or freeze to death. The wound was hardly fatal, but the bleeding was serious enough.

The last thing I heard in the distance was the sound of bells over something that sounded like speakers.

December 14th had arrived.

_Now the bells ring, now the bells ring_  
_The good news has come_  
_The message is clear now_  
_The world is reborn_


	14. December 14th: Holiday In Your Heart

_**A/N:** YOU GET TWO UPDATES AT ONCE, YAY 8'D Because I'm a fail who finds irrelevant songs, hurts the awesome characters and can't get people's names right OTL Either way, this chapter is pretty short and only has Shizu-chan in it~ Next time we'll return to Ikebukuro. Please stay tuned~ :3_  
_The song used today is **"Put A Little Holiday In Your Heart"** and I hope it might be a BIT more relevant since this chapter is supposed to have a positive feel at the end 8'D_

**_Another important thing: _**_I'd like everyone who reads this story to help me with something. This story is already rated M (mainly for language, SHIZU-CHAN 8D), but I'd like to know how you would feel about sex scenes in the story :3 There IS a point in the story where something like that will happen, but if a bunch of you aren't comfortable with that, I'd rather just skip the smut |D I really want your opinion on this, so please share it, be it in a review or a private message~ I'd be so thrilled if you would do me that favor. _

* * *

It appeared that people had been quite baffled at the sudden rainfall that had begun that very same night. While it was not rare experiencing rain down south, the time of such a violent downpour would usually not be until spring.

I had been holed up with my brother at a restaurant for the past 3 hours. He had an appointment with some big-shot movie director who wanted him in his movie and, of course, the press was going to cover it. This time, I had managed to stay out of trouble.

Their meeting had only taken about an hour or so before Kasuka's manager left to discuss further with the director. It appeared my brother did only have that much of a say about the movies he was in. Despite this, he never seemed disappointed or angry about it. He just accepted that it was part of his job.

Since most members of the press had long ago left, Kasuka had joined me at my table in the back of the restaurant. The rain had showed no sign of letting up, so going somewhere else was out of the question. I was not too fond of the thought of getting wet.

I was shifting impatiently in my seat, every now and then casting a glance on the phone in my hand to check the time. When not looking at my phone, my hand would mindlessly run through my hair or fidget with my butterfly. I was not sure what to do with myself.

"Is something the matter?"

My brother appeared to have noticed my nervous behavior. I could have hit myself for acting that way so obviously. I was worrying my brother far more than I should. Since I was the older brother, _I_ should be worrying about him, but… it _had_ always been the other way around.

"Nah, I'm fine." A big lie." I, uh… didn't get much sleep last night."

Those words held more truth. I _really_ did not sleep that much thanks to the damn flea telling me he had something to say and then just hanging up. All that had been on my mind ever since was _what _he had tried to tell me and _why _he had suddenly hung up.

Perhaps he had been stringing me on all along, playing me like a fool. That he had simply been using me to have a bit of fun. It would have been just like him. It was in his nature to do so, tricking the people around him into acting however he wanted them to.

But somewhere in my heart I did not want to acknowledge that this was the case. Despite the fact that I had already called him several times without reaching him, though I had not received any messages or the like… I still wanted to believe that it was a coincidence; that Izaya was busy with something else and that tomorrow we would be on the phone together again.

How I hated to admit it, but I could not deny it. I _enjoyed_ our little talks. I could feel at ease when I spoke to him. He had always had a strange effect on me, but I would never have thought it would come to this.

I despised myself for thinking that way, but I _wanted to hear Izaya's voice again_.

"Say, the rain doesn't really look like it's letting up, huh?"

I had to force myself out of the thoughts I was having. Remembering was only going to make Kasuka even more worried. Instead I chose to bring up a new subject and could I have been more random than deciding to talk about the weather?

"Mmhmm," was the short reply I got. Kasuka was staring out of the window with his ever-stoic expression all over his face.

It was almost funny to imagine how similar we were somehow. Though one would probably never think it, both Kasuka and I had always been very calm individuals, not caring much for getting worked up. Our differences were in how we reacted when we got angry. I simply snapped while Kasuka expressed quiet anger. Apart from that, he was just better at controlling his emotions than I had ever been which was probably one of the reasons as to why he was such a great actor.

"We're going to the mountains tomorrow," Kasuka stated, interrupting my thoughts. I had not noticed that he was looking at me again. "It might be the last photo-shoot before Christmas."

"Oh, so we're heading home after that?" I asked, slightly disappointed that our vacation was coming to an end so soon. I would have liked to spend more time with my brother, preferably alone and away from the media following him around everywhere. "I guess we should make the best of it then."

"I wanted to ask if you would like to stay somewhere for Christmas."

"You mean as in "spend Christmas together"?" I asked surprised, my face probably lighting up in an instant. "That would be great! Of course I would!"

Kasuka smiled softly at my display of enthusiasm, making me desperately trying to calm down and keep myself from looking absolute ridiculous in his eyes. At least it seemed to make him happy as well that we could spend Christmas together as a family for the first time in ages. His words afterwards confirmed it.

"I'm really glad… brother."

_Put a little holiday in your heart__  
__It'll put a little shuffle in your step__  
__Give you a song that you can sing__  
__With a melody you can't forget__  
__And if you wanna join in a little harmony__  
__To keep the world from tearin' apart__  
__Well you know where to look__  
__Yeah - you gotta put a little holiday in your heart_


	15. December 15th:Times Gone By

_**A/N: **Whoohoo, another chapter written~  
**isthisparadise: **Aaaaah, I'm so happy to hear that! 8'D And thank you for your opinion~  
**kokochi: **Yeah, the mood changed very suddenly w I'm really glad to hear you like it though 3 There is still plenty of drama to come~  
**namea33: **C-can I hug you? ;A; Seriously, THANK YOU for complimenting my writing style. It means SO much! And yes, getting shot is pretty dramatic w ANOTHER DURARARA!-COSPLAYER~ It's awesome to hear about others cosplaying the series~ Shizuo is my third cosplay from the series~ I have to admit I'm going to be a really docile Shizuo |D Plus Sabi is so cute you can't get angry with her... EVER 8'D_  
_I used the song **"Times Gone By"** (possibly better known as **"Auld Lang Syne"** to some) for this chapter. I'm not sure why |D Might have something to do with the fact I listened to a cover version by Izaya's English voice actor while writing this chapter~ 8'D_

_****__Another important thing: __I'd STILL like everyone who reads this story to help me. This story is already rated M (mainly for language, SHIZU-CHAN 8D), but I'd like to know how you would feel about sex scenes in the story :3 There IS a point in the story where something like that will happen, but if a bunch of you aren't comfortable with that, I'd rather just skip the smut |D I really want your opinion on this, so please share it, be it in a review or a private message~ I'd be so thrilled if you would do me that favor._

* * *

_The guest bedroom of the apartment had been turned into a makeshift hospital room in a matter of minutes the night before. They had had to hurry in order to treat the injured man who had called him from a small alley in which he had been shot._

_Now Shinra was watching the raven-haired man in the bed, making sure he was still breathing properly. How worried he and Celty had been when they had found him unconscious in a pool of blood. His face had been pale enough to fool anyone into thinking he had passed away._

_Fortunately for Izaya, Shinra had known better. Even luckier was it that Izaya had been so close to his place. His condition could have ended up far more critical if he had been further away._

_Furthermore, while it was no mystery to Shinra as to why Izaya had shot, it was the nature of the injury that puzzled him. It was not unusual for a person to want to kill Izaya, considering the number of people he tended to mess with._

_But whoever had attacked him in the alley had no intention of killing him instantly. It was easy to kill someone quickly with a gun; especially from the distance Izaya had been shot. Instead the shooter had aimed for his lung, a wound that would have caused him to slowly suffocate. Very slowly when he thought of how small the injury was. It was almost cruel._

_However, had the shooter intended to make sure Izaya died, why not take his phone? Izaya must have had it in his hand to find the strength to call Shinra. It seemed almost as if the shooter had _wanted _Izaya to survive._

_Perhaps it had been a warning._

_[Is he going to be alright?]_

_Celty poked him on the shoulder, showing her PDA. Her body language told him that she felt uneasy. Despite the dislike she held for Izaya, she was a peaceful woman who did not want to see anyone die… and most certainly not someone she knew._

"_Of course," Shinra reassured her. "_I'm_ the one who patched him up, so he'll survive. Besides, you didn't think Izaya would be one to die that easily, did you? I mean, he might not have Shizuo's strength, but he's almost as resilient. I doubt anyone _other_ than Shizuo could kill him."_

_[Even when it comes to guns?] Celty shifted on her feet nervously. [If there's a group out there able to hurt Izaya, shouldn't someone deal with them? They must pose a problem to the mafia groups.]_

"_Maybe. I don't know. It could be that they're too strong for the yakuza to handle." Shinra put his hand under his chin and tilted his head in thought. "That might explain why they went after Izaya too. He _does_ provide information to the Awakusu group. Still, this assault just screams "personal revenge" to me."_

_[Izaya's in trouble with a gang?]_

"_Could be." Shinra cast a last look at the peacefully sleeping Izaya. "I really hope this will teach him to stop getting into trouble, though I sincerely doubt it'll have any effect."_

_[You sound worried.]_

"_Yeah, maybe." Shinra frowned. What kind of group would target a single information dealer unless it was personal? "It's difficult not to after this. It makes it seem like it's only a matter of time before Izaya go and gets himself killed."_

It felt as if I had been asleep for quite a while when I opened my eyes to a dimly lit room. An oxygen mask had been placed over my mouth and nose while a drip was ensuring that sedative drugs were running straight into my veins.

Both Shinra and Celty had been insistent on keeping at rest while I was healing. For once I agreed that it was for the best. Though I could breathe just fine again, my chest did still hurt. I ran my hand across the dressing that had been put over the gunshot wound.

Shinra had said that my injury was not very serious and that the main reason he had feared for my life had been because of my state of shock. My lung had not been directly damaged. Rather, air had seeped in through the wound inside the space between my lung and chest wall which had made it harder for me to breathe. Combined with the shock of being shot, I must have hyperventilated and passed out.

It appeared that the leader had showed up, though I had never expected him to carry a gun. Plus he had sounded American. Quite possibly, he was a foreigner, hence why the group had shown up so suddenly.

I wondered if Shiki had been informed of the attack. The Awakusu group would probably stay indifferent, but I was sure to be reprimanded somehow. Namie would probably scold me too while Kida would certainly never let me hear the end of it.

…did Shizuo know? And why was I even _thinking _about him? All of what had happened had to be his fault!

He had left Ikebukuro, leaving me to look for other places to experience a thrill. That was the only reason I had bothered the Crimson Dragons at all. If Shizuo had been around, I would never have had to seek them out and end up being shot by their leader.

Yes. It was all his fault, that damn monster.

I hated him.

I hated him for being a monster.

I hated that he was not around, that I could not go to him and see his face.

_I… missed him?_

_Should old acquaintances be forgotten,  
And never brought to mind?  
__Should old acquaintances be forgotten,  
__And days of long ago!_

_For times gone by, my dear  
__For times gone by,  
__We will take a cup of kindness yet  
__For times gone by._


	16. December 16th:Home On Christmas Day

_**A/N: **Gah, I'm so tired when coming home from school lately. I have no energy OTL Anyway, here's a new chapter for all of you. I hope more will come soon, but it's possible I won't have much time before the weekend A  
__**namea33: **Thank you ;3; Your reviews make me so happeh~ My first Durarara-cosplay was Celty. It was back when the series was still very new. My boyfriend cosplayed both Shizuo and Shinra the same year 8'D This summer I cosplayed Kururi with Sabi as my Mairu |D I can only love the series' characters. I've even considered cosplaying Kida sometime too~  
**neko-kiraluv: **Aww, thank you ;3;  
**Tikycat: **I'm sorry to hear about the fight ;A; I hope you make up soon~ But I'm also glad to hear these updates can cheer you up ^^  
**kokochi: **^3^ There is still quite a few chapters before any smut will show |D I'd rather they are at least _somewhat _closer to each other before that happens~_  
_**Soi Kusa: **...CAN I LOVE YOU? 8'D *EPIC GLOMP TACKLE* ;3; Your review means a lot, THANK YOU. WORDS CANNOT EXPRESS 3 As for smut, I'm getting more comfortable with it |D I figured readers would expect smut with a mature rating, but I wanted opinions |D I believe that the opinion of others is a good way to get a more natural flow in a story ^^.  
Alright, today's song is **"Home On Christmas Day"**__since it now seems a certain someone will be |D_

* * *

"_The number you have dialed is currently unavailable. Please leave a message after the-"_

_Beep._

I hung up before the female voice could finish giving me instructions. This was already the fifth time that day I had called Izaya in vain. For three days now, I had heard nothing from him.

For how long was he planning to ignore me?

I threw my phone on the bed before leaning against the wall, sighing deeply. It was really becoming frustrating. If talking to Izaya was one of the few things capable of keeping my rage at a distance, I could hardly afford to let it go so easily.

Though it was rather irritating not to know whether he was playing with me or if there was another explanation as to why I could not reach him. Perhaps my worst speculations were true and Izaya had just been tricking me all along.

I could feel a frown come upon my face. I did not like to believe it, but that was the kind of person Izaya was. At least the Izaya I had come to know over several years. While this past week had made me _want _to think differently, my knowledge of him told me that I had been fooled by him… again.

But something was still bothering me. The way Izaya had hung up on me three days ago had been so sudden that I could not help but to wonder what the reason had been. Could it be that Izaya was in trouble? Not that _that_ would be a surprise.

I just felt uneasy. Something felt _off_ about being unable to reach him.

This was probably the reason why I, after several minutes of consideration, cursing myself and my impatience, decided to call someone I was _positive _knew if something had happened. Thus I soon found myself on the phone with an old friend of mine.

"_Shizuo? I never expected you to call."_

After having introduced myself, Shinra sounded surprised to have me call him. It was not strange, seeing as I hardly ever called him. Usually I would simply show up at his place if I had went and gotten hurt in some way.

"Why? Were you expecting someone else?"

_"Ah, no." _Shinra laughed nervously. _"I just find it a little strange to be talking to you right now. Oh, but perhaps it's Celty you'd like to have a chat with? Though I suppose you would have sent her a mail or something." _He kept on rambling for quite a while.

"Hey, Shinra. Zip it for a second, alright?" I cut him off, slightly annoyed. This reminded me of why I had always kept my distance from him. "I didn't call to have a chat. I want to know what the flea is up to."

"_The flea? You mean Izaya?" _Shinra paused for a few seconds before speaking again, this time his voice even more nervous than before. _"Why are you calling me then? How should I know what Izaya is up to? It's not like he comes around to have a nice little talk every other day."_

"The bastard hasn't been responding to my calls, that's why!" I nearly bit my tongue after speaking those words. I had said too much. "I mean, he's been calling me all the time lately to bother me. A-anyway, I wanted to know if he's up to something again!

"…_yeah, I figured you wouldn't know."_

"Know what?"

The way Shinra went extremely quiet bothered me. It bothered me a lot. Something was _definitely _off. I did not like where this was going.

"_Know what_, Shinra?

"_Well, you see…"_ Shinra still seemed to be avoiding the subject, but when he finally dropped the bomb, I just did not know how to respond.

"…_Izaya got shot in the chest by a guy three days ago, close to midnight. It wasn't anything too serious, so he's fine and-"_

_Shot_. Izaya got _shot_. The words kept repeating inside of my mind over and over again along with a nagging question as to _why. Why _had he been shot? What had he gotten himself into? The flea had been fuckin' _shot in the chest!_

"_Shizuo, are you still th-"_

I ended the call, ignoring that Shinra was still talking to me when I did so. It felt as if someone had just knocked all air out of my lungs. The phone slowly slipped out of my hand and down on the floor with a loud _thump. _I hardly even heard it.

_Izaya got shot._

_That_ was why he had not responded to my calls all this time. For all I knew, he had not even been awake to do so and here I had been suspecting him of being up to something bad again. I felt horrible. I did not know how to react. Only one thing stood clear in my mind.

As I stood up to the bed, I headed for the door with long strides, but before I could grasp the knob, the door was opened from the other side. It appeared Kasuka had come back from the nearest vending machine with snacks.

"Brother? You seem upset." He tilted his head questioningly. "Is something the matter?"

I bit my lip and looked down. However much I wanted to stay here with my brother, there was somewhere else I felt like I had to go. At least that was what part of my brain was screaming at me to do. All I could do for Kasuka was to put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Kasuka." I shot him a sad smile. "I'm afraid this is the end of my vacation. I'll see you soon, 'kay?"

Those were my final words as I passed him, not having the heart to look back and face him. Instead I went straight outside and caught a cab to the nearest bullet train station.

I knew I had to go home. I would not be able to feel at ease before I had returned.

_Not until I had confirmed with my own that Shinra had been honest._

_And now that winter's here__  
__Soon it will be Christmas__  
__I see your face so clear__  
__Though you're far away__  
__Your home is in my heart__  
__It's everywhere I go__  
__And I'll be waiting here__  
__'Til you're home to stay_


	17. December 17th:If It Doesn't Snow

_**A/N: **I LOVE YOU GUYS, SERIOUSLY ;A; All of you new reviewers too. I can't believe so many of you have decided to follow this story and even reviewed it. Thank you so much ;3; *brb crying forever*  
**therasia: **Thank yoooou ;A; And I apologize for the lack of fluff 8'D It's not yet time for that. More drama is needed for those two to get together~  
**LoOrihara: **Thaaanks ;3; I'm glad you think it's an original idea. I sort of just came up with it on a whim and decided to go with it so I'm pleased to know that others like it~  
**kokochi: **OwO Oh noes! I'm making people crazeh now! Shizu-chan is anxious indeed~ And I felt sorry for Kasuka too while writing the chapter ;A; I'll have to make it up to him later |D  
__**Snivy Terphione:**__...let me love you, please! ;3; Thank you 3  
**unjaundiced: **Ah, my thoughts exactly |D They just got off on the wrong foot, but they could have a wonderful(ly strange) relationship xD  
I didn't mean for it to seem like the gunshot had been muffled completely xD Instead I wanted it to seem like Izaya was really surprised since guns aren't very common in Japan, even with criminals. Hence the lack of them in Durarara! too xD If they had been there, Shizuo would've been shot more than once, I'm sure. Izaya too.  
Thanks for the suggestion on the POV change ;3; I've been considering what to do for a while since I found the line breaks to be a bit too much. I'll try to use them in the next couple of chapters though, so please let me know what you think~ ^^  
And THANK YOU so very much for your review ;3; It was incredibly helpful._

I used the song **"If It Doesn't Snow On Christmas"** today. The mood of it felt right for this chapter ;3 Please enjoy another (slightly) depressing chapter while we're waiting for the Christmas spirit to touch Shizuo and Izaya |D

* * *

_The apartment had fallen quiet again after the information broker had gone back to sleep. He had spent all day arguing with Shinra over whether he had fully healed after the shooting incident. Where Izaya insisted that he was fine, Shinra had somehow managed to convince him that he needed to take a few more tests in order to make sure nothing was wrong._

_Celty had to admit that it was possible that Shinra had not been completely honest with the raven-haired man. Rather, it seemed more likely that he was keeping Izaya in check until he was perfectly sure he was healthy enough to dash off again._

_She and Shinra were currently sitting in the couch watching TV together when Shinra let out a resigned sigh. Feeling confused, Celty tapped in a few words on her PDA._

_[Is something wrong?]_

"_No," Shinra mumbled, smiling as he leaned against her shoulder. "I was just thinking about how we can't have any private moments while we have Izaya around." He barely managed to avoid Celty lunging out at his stomach. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! But… can I ask you something, Celty?"_

_[Of course.] The answer already stood clearly on the screen. [What is it?]_

"_What do you figure will happen when Shizuo shows up?"_

_[Shizuo?!] If Celty had had her head, she would have shaken it in disbelief. Instead she held up one of her hands to get Shinra to explain while the other eagerly tapped away on the PDA. [Why would he come here? Did he tell you he would come?]_

"_Yeah. He called me yesterday to find out what had happened to Izaya. It seems they've been keeping in touch since the beginning of December." Shinra waved his hands at his shocked better half. "I didn't know anything it before yesterday, really!"_

_[What are those two doing talking together? I thought they couldn't stand each other.]_

"_So did I," Shinra mumbled thoughtfully, discreetly wrapping an arm around Celty's shoulder which the Dullahan pushed away determinedly. "And when I told Shizuo about the shooting yesterday he hung up on me. Can you believe it? It was almost as if he panicked or something."_

_[Shizuo panicked because of Izaya?] Celty scratched her neck, trying to make sense of what Shinra was saying. [I wonder what went on between them for something like that to happen.]_

"_So do I. I just hope this won't bring us any more trouble than it already has. Either way, my guts are telling me that the situation is pretty fragile right now."_

_[You mean it's better to stay out of their business?]_

_Shinra laughed wholeheartedly at the question from the headless woman as he threw himself into her lap. Though surprised at his sudden action, this time Celty did nothing to hinder him._

"_Exactly. I most certainly wouldn't want to come between them if those two get confused about their feelings for one another. It might get pretty ugly."_

* * *

_Kishitani, Shinra._

I did not actually have to read the nameplate on the door to know that I had come to the right place. I had visited Shinra so many times before, also while only half conscious, that I probably knew my way there blind.

I felt reluctant as I pulled myself together and ringed the doorbell. The door opened just seconds later and a man in a white lab coat peeked out and up at me. His face went into a nervous grin as he recognized me immediately.

"A-ah! Shizuo!" Looking past him, I could see Celty wave at me inside of the apartment. I simply waved back before looking down on Shinra again. "I didn't expect you to be back so soon. To what do I owe the pleasure of having you visit my humble apartment?"

It was a waste of time trying to talk to him, so I just walked straight past him and towards Celty. It seemed she already knew why I was there. She did a simple gesture towards a door leading out of the living room.

[He's in there. I think he's still sleeping though.]

"Thanks."

Ignoring Shinra's complaints of me trespassing, I went inside the room Celty had pointed out, albeit still a bit reluctant. After all, I did not know how I would react when I saw _him_ again. What I saw inside the room surprised me a little.

I was not sure what I had expected to find, but I doubt it included Izaya sitting fully dressed in legged position on the bed fully absorbed in a book he had in his lap. I supposed I had partly thought that seeing him again would cause my anger to ignite. I had been wrong _again_.

"Huh? Shizu-chan?!"

Izaya's eyes widened as he became aware of my presence. I almost panicked in that moment and I had to force myself to keep from turning around and leave. Somehow I _really_ appreciated how my sunglasses hid my eyes at least somewhat.

"Hey."

"What're you doing here?" Izaya sounded strangely irritated. "Did you mess up big time and had to come running back to Ikebukuro? That's just _sad_, you know."

"I came back when I heard you got _shot_, you bastard!" I nearly shouted at him, surprised at how much it actually bothered me. What bothered me even more was that he appeared to be just fine. "But I guess that wasn't necessary. You seem pretty good to me."

"You're right, I'm _perfectly _fine," Izaya said, a small smirk appearing on his lips. I felt my eye twitch at his remark. "That must be the most ridiculous thing you've ever done, Shizu-chan. Since when did you become my stalker, hmm? Or are you just here to "kick my ass" as usual?"

"Why would I want to kick someone lying down already? I'm not about to stoop down on _your_ level," I growled, averting my eyes as I felt my cheeks heat up. I had already embarrassed myself countless times in front of Izaya. This time was not all that different. "I was _worried_, damn it…"

"Worried…?"

After a moment of awkward silence, Izaya began snickering before breaking out in full-scale laughter. My mind went blank at his reaction. Why was he laughing? Was it really that funny? _What was so funny about it?!_

"Shizu-chan, you never fail to be amusing. You were worried about _me_? Come on, enough with the jokes." Izaya grabbed his side with a small wince as he finally stopped laughing uncontrollably. "Did you hit your head on your way back or-?"

"I'm _serious_!"

This time I did not hold my anger back as I shouted at him. My hands were literally trembling with anger, but it was a different kind than I was used to. I did not snap, but instead my _chest_ hurt like crazy. Izaya's words had really gotten to me.

"I can't believe I even bothered to come here. I guess it really was a stupid idea."

I was starting to worry over what would happen if I stayed in the room. I did not want to _hurt _Izaya, strangely enough, but I was afraid I might if he kept making fun of me. Thus I turned around on my heel, making my way out of the room. Before exiting, I looked back over my shoulder at Izaya who was looking back at me with a mix of surprise and disbelief on his face.

"I don't know why I even thought that anything had changed. You're still the same fucking flea as ever. See ya."

"Shizu-chan, wait-"

I did not stay behind to listen to anything Izaya had to say. I was too focused on getting out of there. I needed fresh air to cool my head down and I needed _something_ to stop my chest from feeling so damn _painful_. I did not even notice Shinra calling out to me or Celty trying to stop me. I just wanted out.

I simply walked for several minutes before coming to a halt several blocks away. I supported myself against a wall, feeling out of breath. I did not understand why I felt like I did. I felt so _horrible_ and it left a horrible taste in my mouth. Izaya had definitely gotten into my head.

_What the hell was happening to me?_

_If it doesn't snow on Christmas__  
__How is Santa goin' to use his sleigh__  
__In case of rain, will there be a train__  
__That'll speed him on his way__  
__If it doesn't snow on Christmas__  
__How will Santa get around to us__  
__If he breaks down on his way to town__  
__Will they let him use a bus_


	18. December 18th:First Christmas

_**A/N: **Let me first apologize for not updating in what to me feels like ages OTL There's been a bunch of stuff to do since my vacation started. I'm pretty sure I will have time to write tomorrow, but please, please bear with me if the final chapters only show up on the 25th or (hopefully not!) the 26th ;A; I'll do my best to focus on my writing instead of wasting time watching anime OTL On a brighter note, IT'S CHRISTMAS TOMORROW 8DD At least here in Denmark since we get presents on the evening of the 24th~ Plus it looks like we might get a white Christmas! That would make me so happeh ;3;  
**Theresaiah: **Aaaah, the feels indeed ;3; To be honest, I just want them to make up and get together RIGHT NAO 8V But that would make this next part of the story practically useless. Thanks for reviewing again ;3;  
**LoOrihara: **I can't express how happy I feel everytime I'm told that ;A; Especially since I spend lots of time reading through chapters, wondering if they're at least SOMEWHAT in character ;3; Thank you so much 3  
**kokochi: **Yes, I know ;3; Izaya can be so mean around his Shizu-chan. And I hope you enjoy the various POV's |D I personally enjoy writing them. AND BONUS, we have Izaya's POV in this chapter~ xD  
__**BlueIsMyFavoriteNumber: **Glad I'm not the only one with that stuck in my head |D Suddenly I feel like singing "all I want for Christmas is my Shi-zu-chan" for some weird reason |P You just easened up the drama 8D I hope you'll enjoy this next chapter as well~  
**bloody-crimson-eyes: **Izaya can be so insensitive, yes? |D Enjoy the continued drama of this chapter 3_

_This chapter has the song **"First** **Christmas"**. The lyrics seemed depressing enough for this chapter |D Also, it's time to formally introduce the leader of the Crimson Dragons into the story 8D_

* * *

_The old abandoned warehouse was buzzing with life. Dozens of angry-looking gang members were busy discussing the events that had gone down as of late. Particularly the shooting of the information broker, who had messed with their group, was a hot subject._

_At the far end of the room, on a ledge at a higher level than the floor, a tanned blond man was sitting, watching his group below. At first sight, he might have seemed bored, but this was far from the case._

_No, he was waiting._

"_Did you hear?" A tall, muscular man with combed black brown hair at his side spoke to him. "That information broker is back on the streets. It doesn't seem to me like he's learned his lesson. Should we do something about it?"_

_The smaller man sitting scratched the red dragon tattoo on his cheek and neck lazily, his expression revealing nothing of what he might be thinking. Only his large blue eyes narrowed slightly._

"_Not yet. I've got a plan."_

"_A plan?" the muscular man inquired. He frowned a bit. Ever since this man had become their leader, they had had far more success. More people knew of them and knew that they should show respect. However, the specialties of some of the newer members were quite questionable._

"_Yes," was the simple reply that he got. "I wouldn't want any of you to accidentally kill the guy off. That would be a real waste." The blond's face lit up in an eerie smile. "He is interesting and intelligent as well, not to mention his knowledge of other groups and factions."_

"_Isn't he working with the Awakusu group already?"_

_The blond stood up, revealing his small stature. It was not his strength or appearance that had made him leader. Rather it was his wits and cunning. The muscular man knew perfectly well that he was probably the most deadly of the people in the room. There was a good reason he had been accepted as a leader._

"_Is that going to stop us? No." _

_The shorter man spread out his arms and looked at the people beneath him. It was a mystery how he perceived them, but it seemed that they were important enough for him to avenge them. And yet he rarely appeared to care much. He was a strange fellow for sure._

"_We are the Crimson Dragons and soon enough even the Awakusu group will learn to respect us. We will have this entire town cover in fear of our strength!"_

* * *

I was in a bad mood. No, bad probably did not cut it. _Terrible_ was more accurate. Even as I passed several people I knew, I managed to ignore them. It must have made them curious as to why I was so irritated, but honestly I did not give a damn.

"_I was _worried_, damn it…"_

Shizu-chan's voice had been stuck in my head ever since he had walked out of Shinra's place, leaving me behind. Neither Shinra nor Celty had commented on it. Not in my presence at least. I bet they believed I deserved what I got.

I did. I knew so myself. Every single bad thing that had ever happened to me had been something I deserved. That included having heavy objects thrown after me and getting shot. _That_ was what an awful human being I was.

Usually I would never try to do anything to change that. I simply dealt with it if anything happened. Even getting shot did not feel like a big deal to me. However, Shizu-chan's reaction to my behavior at Shinra's apartment had triggered some strange things inside of me.

Perhaps that was why I sought him out again, even if I did not consciously mean to.

I found him near Russian Sushi, standing on a street corner with his cellphone in hand, probably checking messages from his brother. It only took a few seconds for him to notice my presence. I immediately expected to see veins pop out on his forehead and have the nearest lamppost thrown at me.

It did not happen. Instead he shrugged his shoulders before looking back down on his phone. While he did seem angry with me as always, his unusual reaction made a few warning signs pop up in my mind.

Should I have just turned my back and walked away?

As if. If there was someone I, Izaya Orihara, did not turn my back on, it was Shizu-chan. I had learned the hard way how dangerous that could be. Though this was a different situation, that habit of mine still stood and I ended up approaching him.

"What do you want, flea?" he asked as I came closer, throwing me a scornful look. Somehow that look pissed me off slightly. "You don't have any business here so get the fuck out of this town. I don't want to see your damn face."

"Ouch. That's harsh," I replied, for once actually getting a feel of the strong dislike Shizu-chan currently held for me. It was hard to believe we had spoken together just days ago like normal human beings. This was a setback to old times. "But if you've got a problem with me being here why not do something about it?"

"'Cause I don't feel like fighting you."

His reply made my eyes widen in surprise. My presence had absolutely no effect on him. There was no sign of his old rage anywhere. Instead he was treating me as some insignificant person he wanted to get rid of as fast as possible; another thing that was seriously annoying me.

"You don't "feel like fighting me"?" I had to fight hard to hold back a snicker. It was almost ridiculous to hear Shizu-chan speak that way. It made me wonder if he really _had _hit his head. "You're telling me that you're going to let me pass unharmed right now, let me send a bunch of thugs after you and _still_ not fight me? Mind I ask _why_?"

Without warning, Shizu-chan's fist flew out and hit the lamp post next to him, bending the metal and causing it to tip over. Several people stopped and stared before hastily moving on with whatever they were doing. I was personally too busy staring at him in disbelief.

"Because I fucking can't!" A clear look of frustration was on his face as he turned his gaze downwards and covered his mouth with a hand. "Even if I wanted to, I just… can't." His voice immediately lowered before continuing.

"I might kill you."

Without saying any more, Shizu-chan turned around and walked away. Frozen for a few seconds, I did not hesitate to run after him, grabbing his sleeve before he could get away. There was no way I was letting him spout nonsense and then let him run.

"Wait. What're you talking about Shizu-"

"Don't bother." My arm was slapped away harshly as Shizu-chan shot me another spiteful glance. "You wouldn't fucking get it no matter how I explain it! Just stay the hell away from me!"

This time I could not bring myself to follow him as he continued walking. Once again I had been left behind speechless, this time with a pain in my chest that could easily compare with the gunshot wound that was still in the process of healing up. A single question kept repeating in my head.

_Why?_

_Why did Shizu-chan look so hurt?_

_Why did _I _hurt?_

_Why was I feeling this terrible?_

_In the common room they've got the biggest tree_

_And it's huge and cold and lifeless_

_Not like it ought to be,_

_And the lit-up flashing Santa Claus on top_

_It's not that same old silver star,_

_You once made for your own_

_First Christmas away from home_


	19. December 19th:Silver Bells

_**A/N: **Whoop, another chapter |D No matter how many times I read it over, it feels so terribly rushed OTL I'm so sorry, I FAIL! ;A; Plus, I wonder if it's even possible for the things happening to Shizu-chan in this chapter to happen. Not always easy to make things 100% believable when used with Durarara! I'm afraid OTL_

_I used the song **"Silver Bells" **for this chapter. Not sure why :3 Perhaps it's just a nice contrast to all the bad stuff happening in this chapter._

* * *

What a terrible morning.

At the sound of my alarm clock, I flipped onto my back and reached out for it on my nightstand. My attempt, however, was unsuccessful as a big bunch of fur decided to lie down and rest right on my face. Growling, I picked it up by the neck as I sat up.

The stupid cat just meowed at me and playfully lashed out with a paw. As I put it down on the bed again, it started rubbing itself against me lovingly, probably believing that it would make me forgive it for lying down on my face. It had to admit it worked.

It was not even my cat. Yuigadokusonmaru, as the cat had been named, belonged to my brother, who had always been fond of these animals. Usually I would take care of it when Kasuka was too busy, but when I had left for vacation, I had asked Tom to look after it. Yesterday I had picked it back up.

"Yeah, it's probably best to get up," I mumbled while rubbing the cat behind its ear. It purred back at me. "Let me get you some food, alright?"

In a matter of minutes I had served a large portion of perfectly ordinary cat food and Kasuka's cat meowed in joy as it started eating. I found a slice of dry bread to be fine. I did not feel very hungry. Rather, I just felt pathetic.

While I felt that the way I had treated Izaya the day before had been completely fair, considering his behavior, I still felt awful about it. To be honest, I wanted to call him up and talk to him like we had done throughout December, but I could not bring myself to do so.

Perhaps I was afraid he would make fun at me again. I was not sure when his mockery had begun to actually get to me, but fact was that they did. Despite all the shit he had been putting me through, experiencing a different side of him had convinced me that there was a slight chance that I could learn to control my rage.

Perhaps I had been wrong. My head hurt just thinking about it. After all, it was possible that Izaya did not feel the same and that he preferred seeing me burning with anger. Actually that would make _far _more sense than us ever becoming friendly with one another.

_Though that might have been pretty nice_, I thought as I got dressed, ready to go out and roam the streets of Ikebukuro again. While I had been suspicious of Izaya since the day we met, my dislike and later hate for him only turned up when he began getting me into trouble.

I had never quite understood why he had gone through such lengths just to piss me off. It was possibly for the same reason that he would randomly show up in Ikebukuro to irritate me. That, too, I did not understand. Frankly, I had to admit that I could never begin to understand the workings of his mind.

Though the air outside was freezing, I did not bother putting on a jacket as I stepped outside. I could not help but to wonder whether I would bump into Izaya again. Yesterday he had worn an expression I had never seen on his face before when I left him.

Not that I dared to hope I could avoid him forever. He would surely involve me in some of his own shady business again sooner or later.

But, as trouble always tended to do, it happened to be sooner.

Minding my own business and caught up in my own thoughts, a grown man stopped me on the street. He was clad in a business suit and appeared to recognize me easily though I thought I had never seen him before. Then again, I was terrible at remembering the faces of people I had met.

"You're Shizuo Heiwajima, right?" he asked with a warm smile on his lips. Somehow I felt it was a bit eerie as his eyes was not smiling at all. "I don't believe we have met. I'm an acquaintance of Tom Tanaka. I was hoping to get to meet you."

Hearing him say Tom's name made me relax a bit. He _did _have connections with some strange people, especially people who owed him money. It was possible that this guy wanted to discuss something regarding that. That would not be the first time, though I had never been called out alone before.

However, my suspicions began to rise as he led me into a smaller alley with no other people around. I took a look over my shoulder just to make sure no one was following: No one there except for a homeless guy sleeping.

"Was there something you wanted from me?" I asked as I turned back around to face Tom's acquaintance. His smile had gone into a creepy grin. I was not very comfortable with the current situation, though if it came to a fight it would probably turn to my advantage.

"Yeah," he replied, slowly pulling up his sleeve. I could feel my muscles tense, expecting him to pull out a weapon or the like. Instead he simply showed me his naked arm. On it, there was a red tattoo of a dragon. "We want revenge, Heiwajima, for beating the living shit out of our guys."

Without warning, something hot and painful was pressed against my neck from behind for several seconds. My body went into a short spasm before I collapsed on the ground, unable to move. A figure went past me and over to Tom's acquaintance, whom I now was sure had lied about his identity. _The homeless man had been in disguise?_

"Alright, better act fast. I hear ordinary weapons don't really work on this guy," the suited man said. It seemed he was well aware what I was capable of. Most likely they were not going to let me get the time I needed to recover from whatever had hit me. A stun gun, perhaps?

"Got it."

The homeless man went closer to me again, something looking like a heavy pipe in his hand. I was not able to turn my head as my body was still quite paralyzed. Nothing I did would make it respond. Then came a hard _whack_ across my neck…

…_and everything before my eyes went black._

* * *

_It was quite late as a short, blond man made his way through the industrial district, heading for a particular meeting place. His plan had been a success so far. All he needed now was for the rat to be cornered by the owl._

_Flipping open his phone he found a number he had recently been able to get hold off thanks to a comrade of his. It had not been the simplest task. The guy he was after was not exactly easy to get close to._

_Which was why his call would probably come as a surprise. Calling up the number, he waited until a voice on the other end replied._

"_Izaya Orihara here. Who am I speaking to?"_

"_Maybe you can guess." He could almost sense how the information broker froze in shock at the sound of his voice. "I'm sure we both remember our last meeting. But let's not talk about me."_

"_What do you mean?"_

_The information broker's voice was cold and questioning. Oh, was he going to enjoy seeing him squirm soon enough. Soon enough._

"_Yes, what do I mean? Say, have you tried call up your debt collector pal? What was his name again… Shizuo Heiwajima? Let's talk about him, shall we?"_

_Silver bells, silver bells,_

_It's Christmas time in the city._

_Ring-a-ling, hear them ring,_

_Soon it will be Christmas day._


End file.
